Repaired Beyond Recognition
by ChaosLudwig
Summary: Vocaloids are singing, breathing, feeling machines. That's what they are essentially. They act and think like humans. They even have a soul (or at least a conscience) but when it comes to biology they are basically robots and programs, albeit a tad sophisticated. The same goes for Utaus, right? ...No, not all of them and you'll find out the same goes for at least one Vocaloid too.
1. Waking Up

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 1

The air was grey and lifeless, like the flesh of a decaying corpse. Vehicles and pedestrians alike passed by without so much as a second glance, continuing on their day in spite of the numb weather. The city of Tokyo stood tall in cold tranquility, as if in mourning, mourning what was to come.

Two shadows rested in an alleyway as they divided what scraps they were able to gather that day. This particular harvest was much more bountiful than most of the others, if you count a half-eaten box lunch abandoned in the park bountiful. As happy as they were with what they had they still could not enjoy it as much as they wanted. Every movement alerted them and every sound made them jump at the expectation of it being a gang of miscreants or a heavy handed officer who just had a bad day.

A large bang reechoed through the walls, angrily tearing into the peace temporarily. The two men heard the laughing and jeer of young men. They quickly disposed of the empty container and scurried off, they knew it was time to return to their usual spot for the night any way as the sky turned an even darker grey.

"Bunch of ingrates, if I was ten years younger I would have ended the lot of them!" The older of the two spat. His unruly whiskers twitched with agitation. They had reached a more scarce part of the city filled with warehouses and other less fortunate so they felt safer carrying on. The taller, thinner one only chuckled to himself. His limp reminding him of the last time the old man spoke of his superiority to the youths of today. This caused a short silence.

"Looks like a storm…" The shorter of them finally broke the silence, which was uncommon for the two of them. He shivered unwillingly at the approaching cold.

The younger without a word took off his trench coat, revealing his tattered suit underneath and placed on the back of his companion. The other only grunted in response, knowing he wouldn't accept a 'no' from such an action. "Mutsu-kun…" He grumbled half heartily, only for his rattling cough to overcome him.

"Benji-sama, the cold doesn't bother me." Mutsu put his hands in his pockets. His cracked glasses sliding to the tip of his nose as he stood as tall as his damaged leg would allow. He was quite young for someone in his predicament. In fact he wasn't even of legal age to drink. He never really volunteered any knowledge of his past, never explaining what his life was like a year ago before he appeared on the streets. He never swapped stories of hardships with the others on the rare occasions when they gathered. He only listened to the complaints of others, and spoke of how beautiful the world could be. The pink cherry blossoms in the spring were his favorite.

Benjirou stopped with him, each cough proving the other right. "You need it more than me." He dared not to touch the old man. He would have only lashed at him for any further kind gestures. Benjirou was a hothead too quick to jump into an unnecessary spat. He had lived this life longer than anyone and is too hardheaded to accept medical attention. He was around twenty six years old when he was left to live in the streets for the first time and he's been married twice. He still keeps a picture of his first wife who died at a tender age of twenty two.

"Benji-."

"Don't start!" His dark yellowed eyes shot daggers at Mutsu's worry-filled dark brown ones. "Playing the broken record now isn't going to change my mind." He looked away, losing the grip on his chest. "We have to get moving…" The wind started to pick up as they walked further down the foreboding streets. Soon after small flakes began to flutter around them, the weather's pace quickening with every step the pair took.

"So peaceful. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful in the winter as a gentle snowfall?"

"Eh, I always thought of it as the Gods' dandruff." The pace of it hastened so much that the ground already had the first layer of white blanket laid upon it.

They were half way there when the sound of crunching snowflakes gradually became louder. A figure appeared against the blackness of night, a small one steadily approaching. The person knocked into them, but continued forward without a hint of hesitation. Mutsu only managed to see for a mere second, but it was enough to see it was a girl in a black and maroon hoodie.

"I don't remember her…" He commented as he tried to help Benjirou off the ground.

"Probably a runaway. She probably decided her parents hated her or something, rude child… Get offa me!" He flailed his arm to ward off the teen.

"She's heading toward that…" He started to run after her. "You go on without me, Benji-Sama!" He waved back to the hardhead reassuringly.

"Hm, you're taunting the Gods, Mutsu-Kun…and I'm not sure she'd appreciate the effort." Benjirou muttered to himself. He pulled the trench coat back onto his shoulders and continued to walk to the safe area. "It is peaceful now that I think about it, just like a shrine…"

Mutsu ignored the throbbing that coursed through his leg with every step. The soft crunch of the snow became less frequent as the girl managed to outrun him. It felt like an hour had passed as he followed the prints she left in the snow, the distant bangs and roars giving him cause for concern. He found the end leading to an abandoned factory, a place he was hoping she'd avoid. It was now lit ablaze with smoke billowing out.

The smell of burning gasoline filled his nostrils as he ducked under the snapped door. Flames engulfed the facility, surrounding him with intense heat and pops that fought to break his determination. He looked around franticly until he noted a black sleeve peeking out from under a fallen table. He darted for it while avoiding ever falling bits of ceiling that were growing in size. Once he reached it he dragged the out and picked up the girl. He wrapped the unconscious child in his arms, only having enough time to turn before the fire amassed a grand explosion that sent debris soaring. He let out a pained cry as blood splattered onto the ground, glass and metal dug its way into the boy's back.

Soon the city air fell silent once more, back to its lamentation state. Everything was settled, and the girl was brought back to her family just fine albeit a little shaken. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the lad involved, Mutsu was gone.

* * *

The tiny squeaks and clicks of a lonely stretcher filled the long, brightly lit white hall. A man in surgical attire pushed it along in a hurried walk along the bare walls. The sheet covering the gurney fluttered in the wind being picked up as it moved. It formed an eerie silhouette of what or who it was concealing. At the end of the hall was an equally silent room. Slightly less lit it had more of a bluish tone. It was a compact room; one part was lined with sinks, towels, other cleaning utensils, and white surgical gloves, the adjacent side being separated by a clear wall had two separated tables with a couple of trays and peculiar instruments on them. Most of these trinkets were common in such an environment, such as scissors or a scalpel, but there was also an unusual one. This unusual device was concealed in an airtight container next to a syringe with a red liquid inside.

The man slid the stretcher between the tables and in front of a set of monitors and connective wires. Two more people came in from the cleaning area with their hands held in front of them. They didn't even exchange glances before they got to work, starting with the wires they were placing on the entity under the sheet they were lifting. The first man left them to their work and continued on other duties. He only stopped briefly to speak, more to himself than the others. "A male this time. Fixed him up real nice…Hope he likes his new 'voice'…Not that he'll know the difference."

* * *

Darkness, it was all the mind knew at the moment. The black and boundless oblivion offered no passage of time, no explanation as to when it started or when it would end, if ever. There was only emptiness, no joy, no malice, just a vacuum to greet it at every turn. The mind was neither blissful nor annoyed with this, for at the instant it knew no better. It knew nothing.

Until, light greeted the eager eyes as they finally opened. They rolled around to survey the area, being met with a mass of blurs that did not correct themselves. The mind questioned why this was, having very little understanding come to light all at once.

There was a constant, small acoustic blip that reached the ears. The head turned to a rectangular fuzziness with an indistinct line appearing in a fleeting and cracked visual in tempo with the odd sound. Another sound caught the ears detection, a click and small creak. The head turned back to its original position, trying to find the new sound's origin.

Suddenly, a new blur entered the area, this one moving toward the mind. The blur then stopped. It seemed stationary for a mere second, and then uttered a surprising gasp before moving out of view once more. The mind had become disappointed, realizing the moving object was most likely a living thing, possibly even another human.

Yes, human, it comprehended it must be that. More information was slowly trickling back. This human must be in…a hospital? Hospitals have unusual monitors, but why was it blurred? Why was everything unclear? The human contemplated the situation, greedily consuming any new data that dared to poke itself up from the depths of forgetfulness.

'That sound was a door.'

'Pi equals 3.1415926535…'

'Nara Period 710-794.'

'Door? Those are made from many different materials and varieties. Most commonly wood.'

'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

'The sun's distance from Earth is 149,600,000km. Its surface temperature is 5,778K.'

'Wood, the hard fibrous material forms the main substance of the trunk and branches of a tree or shrub.'

'If you do not enter the tiger's cave, then you will not catch its cub.'

'Dogs are believed to be descendants of wolves.'

'The Yeti, or Abdominal Snowman, is said to be an ape-like creature taller than an average human similar to Bigfoot that inhabits the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet, but some believe there have been sightings as far off as islands off the coast of the North Pole.'

'Trees come in many sizes and species, one of which being cherry blossom trees that are speculated to be native to the Himalayas over several million years ago and grew in into many different areas and variants. The most beautiful being Pink Cherry Blossom trees that bloom in early spring.'

The human had its concentration severed when a bombardment of footsteps came clamoring through what the human realized was an entryway. Two other hazy human figures followed the previously mentioned blur to its position just ahead of the being. The human blinked a few more times, a last ditch effort to correct the visual abnormality. The blurs began to clamor excitedly in front of the human. Their speech became recognizable almost instantly.

"It's only been three days…The amount of change since then is remarkable."

"His eyes seem well coordinated, and he seems sentient. Let's hope this means there wasn't any real mental damage…"

'He? Am I a male? Is she referring to me?' He began to squint to see as the urge to see these people more clearly was finally getting the better of his patience.

"Ah, right, forgetting something, well, now's a time to test that." One of the three walked next to the being, getting more and more defined as he did so. Once he was close enough he motioned to the table next to them. "There are several selections here. Choose the one you like best."

He followed the man's gesture with his eyes. Taking notice of the cases on the table, there was a black one, a blue one, a green one, a red, and a white case. Not a minuet passed before his hand lifted and picked up the red one with perfect motor skills. He examined it for a short while before he realized how to open it. The three people seemed very pleased as he lifted the contents and put the red rimmed and red tinted glasses on his nose.

"Excellent, your procedure was a wonderful success Doctor!"

"Yes, just like the other two, purely genius!" The other two clapped with much glee.

The male human was quite perplexed, but was grateful this doctor managed to give him a working pair of glasses, even if he felt it the man received a little too much praise for something people all over the world have had for many years. He smiled wide as he looked about the room like he was seeing it for the first time.

"Would you like to take a look?" The man next to him held up a hand mirror he retrieved from the drawer the glasses were on.

"…Yes." The human male paused. He took a moment to absorb the unusual sound of his crackly voice. "Hai… Ja… Si…" The other two scientists looked at each other, wondering where on earth he had learned this.

"Alright, alright." He handed it to him with a hand showing surrender. "I got the message!" He said with a laugh.

He looked at it eagerly, taking in every detail. His face had a strong jawline. His eyes mostly black with a small, almost invisible red iris, but the feature that struck him the most was the short, thick fur-like hair that was a soft pink. He wasn't sure why, but he liked it.

"Well, what do you think of your new glasses, Matsupoid?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Who is Matsupoid you ask? Well, He's basically the Mukku version of Ryuto but he's an older gentleman and an Utau. If you don't like Ryuto you probably won't, but might, like him. Look him up on YouTube to decide for yourself!**

**I think him and Gacha are awesome, but that's my preference...**


	2. Coming Home

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 2

It had been quite a day for Matsupoid. Waking up for the first time and learning your name is quite a feat, and now he was being escorted by the man who 'made' him to his new home. The home he would stay until he finished school was a decent place. It was not a mansion by any means, but it was enough to house a family of four comfortably. It was placed in a normal neighborhood with children and dogs and walkers going about as they did every day.

He got out as soon as the car stopped in front, taking a moment to look at his own reflection. Just like the glasses before he was given several sections in what he was to exchange his hospital gown for. He immediately selected what jumped out to him, a nice black suit with a red bow tie.

"So it's red again, hm?" Doctor Kenmochi noted with a smirk as his creation excused himself to the bathroom to dress. He could still hear the doctor's conversation albeit a little muffled now.

"Purely a coincidence I'm sure." The other doctor noted before leaving. "If you'll excuse me…"

"Hm, He seems to be in a hurry." The female noted with aggravation in her voice.

"He's just upset he didn't get any praise, but he is a brilliant doctor, just gets jealous too easily…Although he might just be trying to avoid any questions. You know how curious the other two were." The man in the white coat gave his own joke a weak laugh.

"Considering how his work would have failed without your intervention he should get over it!"

"Shh. Not so loud doctor."

Matsu was brought back to the present when the doctor had slammed his own car door. "I will have to warn you, you won't be alone here." He toyed with him, a sly grin showing he knew what the poor soul was in for. "Looks can bite you in there."

"Bite?" The innocent teen cocked his head. He looked at the doctor, then at the building. It looked well-kept and peaceful, the lawn was well manicured and beautiful blue and white curtains covered most of the windows, but he figured it would be best not to make assumptions just yet.

He had a sweet, easy-going smile that would become characteristic of him as he walked bravely to his new home. He wanted to make a good impression regardless of how aggressive the current occupants were. The grass made a soft crunch as the doctor followed behind him, not bothering to walk on the practically new stone walkway placed there for that very purpose like Matsu was.

Once they reached the slightly risen porch the doctor jumped just in front and quickly tiptoed across to get to the door first. "I hope you like it here, it really isn't so bad if you survive long enough." He flashed another playful smirk as his hand reached for the handle of the sliding door. "You should try getting a good long look before your lights get put out." The door opened with a soft whirr and click. He gestured the well-dressed pink haired companion to go inside, but stepped just in front of him again after shutting the door quickly.

The first room beyond the shoe cubby was wide hall that extended to a set of stairs and split to an L shape to an area Matsu could not see. To the other side was a wide arch way that extended to a decently sized living quarters with a nice television set that he could see with the mirror across from it.

"Oh, ladies? Your Doctor Ken-chan is home!" He shouted with a cocky sing-song tone. "…and I have a surprise for you!" He looked at Matsu for a second only to finally realize that the teen was taller than he and standing in front of him was deemed a moot attempt to hide this 'surprise'.

"Uh, Matsu-kun? Will you please crou-." It was too late. The sound of a door swinging open and pitter patter of angry slippers told him that much. "Hey, Kuji-Chan! I just love to see you and Ka-chan's shining faces." He turned quickly to the approaching duo as they turned the corner.

The first one was a girl only perhaps an inch shorter than the doctor. She wore a loose layered blue and white skirt that reached her mid shins, a blue long sleeved shirt whose sleeves reached beyond her hands with a white collar and a print of a whale on the left bottom corner, and very tasteful eye and lip makeup. Her hair was black with blue highlights styled at chin length in a series of waves. She had light blue eyes that were currently narrowed in an angry glare.

The second one walked more than ran. This girl was three quarters the other girl's height and kind of pudgy. She wore a plain apron, pale yellow dress shirt, and tan shorts. She had dark brown hair tied back in two lower buns and black pupils. She had a sincere smile and held a tray supporting sweets and a tea set in her arms.

"Good to see you-."

"Don't you think I've forgotten moron!" Kujiloid crossed her arms, causing her sleeves to fly in opposite directions one landing on the shorter girl's head.

"Kuji-chan? Whatever do you mean? Why do you insult me so?" The good doctor said in his most innocent voice. He attempted a sad puppy-eyed look but that didn't cut it.

"Don't call me that! Remember your last little visit when we caught you trying to peak into our rooms without us noticing!"

"I was just trying to see if you were healthy. I am your doctor after all."

Kuji growled angrily and snatched up one of the tea cups on Ka-chanloid's tray. She held it up in a throwing position causing him to drop out of range. This made the already visible and uncomfortable Matsu stick out like a yeti in the middle of a desert.

"Who's that?" Kuji dropped the cup for Ka-chan to catch perfectly and place back in its proper position. She threw the good doctor aside and stepped up to Matsu. He backed up a little as she looked him up and down stopping when she got to his face. He tried to give her a smile to show her he meant no harm. She only narrowed her eyes again.

"Hello, Ma'am." He finally broke the silence between them. Ka-chan waved her free hand in the background and returned the greetings.

"Hi."

"Yeah, Hello." Kuji backed off and smiled. "At least he has manners." She shot another glare at Kenmochi. "A better 'surprise' than the last one."

"My name is Matsupoid." He bowed politely now that he was given enough room. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Good to see you're getting along. I'll be going now."

"Oh, no you don't!" Kuji darted after the man that slithered out the door like a scolded dog. Matsupoid smiled again, thinking at least his new home wouldn't be boring in the least.

"Would you like some tea?" Ka-chan suggested sweetly as she took it over to the living area. "You probably have a lot of questions. I always thought it's better to get to know someone over some tea."

"Yes, that would be nice, thank you-." Matsu followed her, finally getting a better look at the living room. In front of the TV was a low table that had a couch spaced far against the wall and an arm chair next to that.

"You can call me Ka-Chan. That's what Kuji-san calls me." She placed the tray on the table and arranged the cups.

"Alright, and Kuji-san would be-."

"The one who just went after the Doctor." She poured some in three cups after kneeling next to the table. Matsu kneeled across from her. "She's very passionate..." She took a sip of the tea. "Not the calmest of birthdays you'll have."

"Birthday?" Matsu thought for a moment as he looked at the clear brown liquid. "I guess it is my birthday…" He cupped the liquid filled container in his hands. "Is today your Birthday too?"

"No, mine was a month ago and Kuji-san's was two weeks after."

There was a girlish scream that came from the outside followed by the sound of a car door and screeching wheels. A minute later the door slammed and Kuji walked in and kneeled next to Ka-chan calmly. "Sorry about that." She said to Matsu sweetly. She didn't bother to roll up her sleeves as she grasped her beverage.

"Then I should congratulate you on your late birthday."

"Huh?" Kuji glanced up from her drink with a befuddled look. "Thank you?"

"I wish I had known. I would have baked a cake." Ka-chan frowned. She always mourned a missed opportunity to bake.

"That's OK, I don-." He was cut off by a sudden growl that begged to differ the ending of that statement. He quietly reached for a small treat from the plate next to the teapot to quell its wrath, but it swallowed the bit up like it was thin air.

"Your dressed very fancy for your own birthday, aren't you?" Kuji raised the cup to her delicately painted lips and took a very laid-like sip.

"Hm?" Matsu paused while reaching for another treat. "I just feel the most comfortable in this…I'm not entirely sure why." He tried to explain his attire the best he could, but the deep-rooted feeling refused to identify itself. He simply took another bite of pastry instead.

"I'm sure Doctor Kenmochi has told you nothing." Kujiloid's voice was seeped with venom when his name passed her lips.

"I did overhear something…" He mumbled, not entirely sure he should be speaking of something he wasn't meant to hear, but continued anyway. "Something about him fixing another doctor's mistakes, but on the way here he just warned me about biting and told me to take a good long look…"

"Take a good look? That pig!" She hissed slamming her hands onto the table as her face flushed to a fuming scarlet. Matsu inched slightly from the table, concerned she would take her frustrations out on him and cursing himself for not making the connection before bringing it up. He cautiously reached for another sweet without making any sudden movements. His eyes avoided the girl snarling with fury.

"I'm sure that's not what he meant." Ka-chan raised her hands in a defensive position in an attempt to calm the girl. Then she poured more warm liquid into each cup.

"Yeah, sure he didn't and your choice in color scheme is fashion-forward!" She slumped back onto the floor with a scowl scarring her pretty face. Her sleeves almost took their cups with them as she seated herself. "I swear the next time he comes here." A grumble floated into the air and dissipated into thoughts of bodily harm.

"So I like earthy tones, it's not a crime…" The shorter one rolled her eyes. "It's just as normal as your fascination with marine life."

"You mean whales?" Matsu remembered the print on the girl's shirt in between bites of yet another dessert.

"I like all kinds of animals that live in the ocean. Whales are just my favorite." She finally noted the glasses the boy in front of her was wearing. "You really like the color red huh?"

"Yes," He wiped the crumbs off his cheeks before continuing his explanation. "It's the color of a crane's crown."

"A crane's crown?" Kuji cocked a black and blue eye brow as she thought. Her eyes lit up as she realized what he meant. "Oh, I see. You mean the Japanese crane."

"Yes, and the color of roses, and strawberries, and-."

"Eh, yeah. You could have stopped at the crane bit…" Matsu felt the flush of his color over his cheeks as she halted his tangent.

"Sorry, I do like orange too though." He reached for more sugar filled treats, only to find the plate was empty. He seemed a bit downtrodden by this development.

The brunette smiled. She had found another reason to cook. She was going to like this new addition. "You'll get more, after dinner." She placed the dishes on the tray and headed to the kitchen.

"Are we having leftovers from last night?" The other two got up with her and strolled over to the kitchen door.

"Do you need some help?" Matsu poked his head into the small but well equipped kitchen.

"Not today. You need to relax. It's your birthday." Ka-chan said cheerfully as she carefully washed the tea cups. "You should take good look around the house, get used to its layout."

"Don't worry about her. She's the kind of weirdo that loves this kind of thing." Kuji whispered to Matsu so she wouldn't get the 'it's not weird it's wanting to be clean' line.

"But-."

"She'll be fine. If she needs help she'll call for us." Kuji started to walk over to the staircase. She turned to him with a sweet look. "My room is the first one across from the stairs. Go in there without permission and you lose what's left of your eyes."

"You don't have to tell me, I'll just ask Doctor Kenmochi..." The door suddenly opened at his words and as if the phrase was an incantation the man himself had walked through. This time he had a surprise in his arms.

"Ah, Matsu-kun, I'm so glad you and Kuji-chan aren't on bad terms yet." He had a sly grin on as usual, a basket covered with a blanket hung conspicuously from his hands.

"What makes you think he and I-?"

"On my way home I saw a little something that reminded me of you and I figured I should just give it to you now before they spoil." He held the basket up to the taller male. "Here, enjoy."

"Reminded you of me?" Matsu eyed the whicker creation and reached his hand under the cover. He pulled something from under and held it up so he could see. It was a pink, fuzzy, peach. "Oh, like my hair?" He asked. He looked at the fruit and licked his lips in anticipation of the sweet taste.

"H-Yeah, it's something like that…" The doctor looked away slyly, a snicker hid just beneath his words. "That's one way to look at it."

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Kuji nearly tumbled down the stairs as Matsu grasped the food delicately in his hands.

"What?" Matsu looked at her with wide and incredibly innocent eyes.

"Giving my patient a good source of nutrients." The doctor shrugged nonchalantly.

"Like slugs you are!" She snatched the fruit from the pink haired one's hand. "We don't need you tainting him. Not on the first day!" She threw him out and chucked the fruit after him. Matsu only stood there in the same position, his mouth hung open with his eyes telling the story of a sad stomach that was starting to growl again. No, this house would be nothing like anything normal and Matsu was going to have a lot of long days.


	3. Making Friends

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 3

"C'mon Kuji-san! Up, up, up, it's the first day of school!" Ka-chan happily dressed in a white dress with a light yellow stripe on the collar, hem of sleeves, bottom, and at the waist. The watch on her wrist told her it was time to take action. She burst into the room that resembled a marina with likenesses of fish, shelled creatures, sea birds, and of course marine mammals. It had been five months of tortuous insolation since Matsu arrived and things were still struggling to fall into a proper schedule.

"I am not looking forward to this." The girl groaned from under the mess of sheets, blankets, and stuffed cetaceans that was her bed. "At least I'm not the only one that has to suffer…"

"Kuji-san, you're not sick are you? It'll be a shame to miss the first day." Matsu poked his head trough the doorway after Ka-chan walked in. He was fully dressed in another black suit with red bowtie and the new addition of white gloves he had requested during one of their guardians' visits. He was eating something the short cook made for a quick breakfast.

The only one still in her nightgown shot up from under the blankets and looked at the seagull clock sitting on the night stand next to her bed. "You're up already? It's only six! We don't have to cross the sea to get there!" Her hair resembled a stormy body of water in mid churn as she slumped back into place. "I'm surrounded by book worms. Wake me in an hour."

"Oh, no you don't!" Ka-chan waded through the fashion magazines, makeup, and plushy aqua life that littered the floor and grabbed on the covers at the bottom of her house mate's bed. "Get up and get ready missy!" She tried to snatch the covers off between the cries of 'no' emitting from the pile, but she was not strong enough to contend with the aqua prima donna. "Matsu-san, help me get 'Skipper Diva' out of her cocoon, please."

"Don't you dare!" A muffled cry came from under a blue pillow.

"Uh," Matsu looked around nervously, morally conflicted enough to stop mid bite. He decided the best option at the moment would be to make a break for it, so he took his bag, bolted down the stairs and straight out the door. He only paused briefly to change shoes. The girls didn't even notice.

The air was cool and still a little dark as even the sun refused to get up on a school day. Matsu breathed in the cold and stretched his long arms. A dog barked in the distance as he started to walk toward the public facility. The streets were mostly empty with the exception of a couple of cats that managed to scurry out of their perspective homes for a small adventure. He hummed happily to himself as he finished what was left of his breakfast. The sound of domestic animals became fainter as the cries of more wild animals were coming within earshot and it told him he was on the right track.

He checked through his bag as he waited for a car to pass. He noticed the mostly empty journal that was given to him by two women who had visited three months ago. Miss Danielle was much more professional than Doctor Kenmochi and would not address them directly. She would look them over and tell things to her companion in another language. One Matsu didn't recognize. She seemed distressed about something, something she brought up the moment the car pulled up.

The other was named Suzy. She would talk to them. She informed them about the school they would attend, warned them to behave while in the house, to record everything in their journals, and propositioned that if they did well in school and behaved they would take a trip when school was let out for winter vacation. She also gave them each cellphones and a number they would call if anything too serious happened or if they simply had questions or requests that could not wait until the next 'visit' by Doctor Kenmochi.

He followed the roads he was told would lead to the school, looking back every so often to see if the other two had caught up yet. He hoped they would remember to go through a park (or more accurately a forest) he was coming up on that cut through the town.

A chilly wispy breeze welcomed him as he entered the park, beckoning him deeper into the darkness that refused to die in the presence of the sun. The path reverted to a dirt line on the ground with grass and infrequent wild flowers that refused to let go of summer bordering it. The tree tops above began to change in color, telltale sign of the dying season of fall.

The chatter of birds surrounded him. He recognized all of them. They stimulated something deep within the recesses of his mind that began to bubble up. "Sweetie, you hear that?"

"Hello?" He turned to see if it was one of the girls, but no one was there. He shrugged it off. "Don't be scared, Mutsu." He stiffened up. He felt breath on his ear, like the woman had just whispered to him, like she was right next to him. "The trees will hide you."

"Who's there?" He searched all over to see if anyone was there, but again nothing came to light. He was about to keep going when a stick snapped nearby. He went to investigate, many different little critters scurried out of the brush as he did so. He pushed aside a large bush, expecting to find the source of the voice. He instead found someone slumped against a tree.

The girl if stood up would come to Matsu's shoulder. She wore a black vest, a white long sleeved shirt under that, a pine green short skirt that reached above the knee, dark purple sneakers with mid shin white socks, and a cute pine green bow tied snuggly around her neck. She had vibrant green hair that lightly touched her shoulders and her eyes were closed, giving a peaceful impression.

"Ma'am, are you OK?" Matsu stepped closer, internally debating whether or not he should check her pulse. He thought he could see her chest move in tempo with breathing, but he didn't want to stare too long to be sure. He crouched next to her and reached out to feel her wrist for the revealing signs of a beating heart, moving a small silver snake bracelet out of the way.

"Do you like it?" Matsu jumped back at the small voice. Once he landed on the ground he looked at the girl's face to see pure green eyes shoot open. Even after the girl stretched her eyes still looked sleepy, as if she was on the verge of falling back into a deeper slumber.

"I-I'm sorry. I was just seeing if you were alright."

The girl laughed. "That's OK. My Papa always told me I look dead when I sleep, so I'm sure you're right." The girl stood up and reached down for her bag next to the tree.

"Here, I got it." Matsu picked up the pack and stood up to present it to her.

"Thank you, mister."

"You can call me Matsupoid, ma'am." He said with a smile. "It's the least I can do."

"For what? You did me a favor. I'm usually late on the first day of school because I always fall asleep here." She looked at the trees around them, reabsorbing the atmosphere. "I always get up too early and this place is just so calming." She gasped once she realized she forgot something. "Oh, my name is Ryouko." She bowed politely. "Are you new here Matsu-san?"

"Yes, I've been here for five months, but this is my first time in the park." Matsu followed Ryouko back to the dirt road that cut through the gathering of plants.

"Matsupoid…" She thought for a moment, looking at the trees that hung colorful leaves above them. "Powder-like?" She giggled and shook her head, looking back at Matsu. "Pine-like? You're tall like a Pine tree. That must be why. They should have called you Sakura though."

Matsu laughed, running a hand through his thick, short pink fur. "Isn't that a bit feminine?"

"Hm, I guess they made the right choice then, huh?"

"They?" Did she know? Another thing the women mentioned was how secret this all was. It was why they weren't supposed to leave the house until school started. They never really gave a good reason why, but they were instructed to tell everyone that their parents were out of town because of their jobs and that everything hung on their secrecy.

"Your Mama and Papa of course."

"Oh, of course. I like your name too. I can already tell it really fits you."

"I told you we were going to be late!" A familiar voice carried into the woods and was getting closer. The forest critters were not getting a break today. "I should have left you behind like Matsu-san!"

"We still have plenty of time! Don't get your apron strings in a twist!"

"Do you have siblings?" Ryouko noted the mention of his name.

"Uh, sisters." He looked in their direction. The thought hadn't occurred to him, but they did seem to bicker like family. "Two of them." He even remembered how Kuji defended him just yesterday after the good doctor walked in on him while he was in the shower. Not that he thought it was necessary, (after all it was unintentional right?), but it's the thought that counts. (In a way it was unintentional considering he thought it was Kuji, but since Matsu's bathroom was being worked on he had to use hers.)

"Kujiloid and Ka-Chanloid."

"What?" Kuji looked up at him with a cocked brow. Her hair was now fixed up in a water spout of a pony tail and she put on makeup with colors that resembled the fall leaves. She wore dark blue pants that reached just below the knee and a bleached white material that curved up slightly on the hem of the pants leg, a bark blue chest high jacket with the usual long sleeves, black slip-on shoes, and a white short sleeved under shirt with a graphic of a dolphin. On her bag dangled a whale keychain and around her ankle was a small gold chain anklet.

"This is Ryouko, I met her on the way to school."

"Hello." She bowed to them and smiled. "It's nice to meet you both."

"I'm Ka-Chan and she's Kuji." She returned her kind smile with one of her own. "On your way to school too?"

"Yup."

"See Kuji, Waking up early does have its benefits! If we hadn't gotten up at the proper time we wouldn't get to meet new people."

"Ugh, can we just get going already? I want to get this day over with." Kuji rolled her eyes and started the unwilling march to the facility that she saw as a prison.

* * *

"I can show you around if you want." The afternoon air was starting to warm up as school finally let out for the day. Ryouko stood next to Matsu as he waited for his 'sisters'. They had class together, but after cleaning the room the two girls had to take care of some additional work that would only take a few minutes.

"That sounds fun." Matsu looked at the long and wide two story building. "So you've lived here all your life?"

"Mm hm. I was born in a hospital not far from here. We have a bunch of fun festivals every year, and…most people that come from here are really nice." She sat on the grass, picking up a leaf and twirling it around in her fingers. "There's going to be one a month from now, the fall one."

"Most people?"

"Well, there was this one person…Never mind. You'll never meet him…"

"I can't believe the gall of that man!" A yell emitted from the swinging doors of the educational structure, signifying the end of their wait.

"Now, now Kuji-san." Ka-chan sighed. "He was only doing what teachers do."

"Everyone else who took his class in earlier years says he can be strict, but once you get to know him he can be pretty relaxed." Ryouko stated sweetly. Kuji shot her a glare.

"Relaxed my flipper! Did you hear the way he talked to me?"

"He only said you were lazy. It's not exactly a stretch…" Ka-chan mumbled. "Look, maybe you should just do what he says when we clean instead of getting some boy to do it for you?"

"Whose side are you on, traitor?" She said with a sassy 'hands on her hips' pose.

"Ryouko said she'd show us around town. You want to come?"

"That's nice of you to offer. Are you sure?"

"It'll be fun." The green-haired girl smiled. The tour was short compared to most. There were two sides of the town that was separated by the woods. One side was the side everyone lived on with houses and apartments. The other side was the commercial side with a few stores, two restaurants, public buildings, and a train station.

"The park is beautiful in the spring, but during the fall festival they light this whole walkway up and there are booths covering both sides so it looks especially pretty."

"When does that happen?"

"Next month." The girl with sleepy eyes looked up at the sky as they exited the woods into the residential side. The sun had started painting the sky a mix of orange and scarlet not too long ago. "I hope your parents don't mind you staying out so late."

"They don't care. They're not home very often anyway." Kuji was quick to respond. She was a good actress.

"Yeah, as long as we keep our schoolwork up we can do what we want." The other two found it easy to follow suit. In their mind it wasn't entirely a lie.

"That's so sad."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, don't you miss them?"

"No, our Mom and…'Dad' care for us. They do all they can to make us comfortable" Kuji had a bitter sudden need to wash her mouth out when she said that.

"We talk to them on the phone every day." Matsu added.

"Well, in that case, why don't you have dinner at my house? My Papa always makes too much food anyway."

"I don't know…" Ka-Chan didn't like the idea of not having to cook.

"Sounds good to me. Where do you live?"

"The house closest to the park." She pointed to an old but well-kept house. It was a one story but it was still decently sized. The lawn was trim but trees and flowers covered most of the yard, making it appear as if it was being slowly consumed by the small forest.

She quickly skipped down the walkway, and waited until her friends caught up to open the door. The smell of cooked meat billowed out with the sound of clinging pots and pans. "Papa, I'm home!" She placed her bag on the floor against the wall before changing her shoes. "I hope you don't mind I brought some friends over!" There was a sudden crash from the kitchen that echoed from the room next to them.

"What luck, I got twice the beef I needed for this recipe." A man with hair and eyes similar in color to Ryouko popped out of the door to the left of them. "It won't be long before its ready. Make yourselves comfortable." He heard a sharp whistle in the kitchen and darted back to fight his culinary war as the teens sat in a living area in front of the entrance.

"Uh," Ka-Chan's eye twitched as the sound of clanging pots filled the air again. This was taking a lot to get used to. "Are you sure it's OK?"

"He'll be fine. You need to take a break anyway." Kuji halfheartedly assured her as she and Matsu looked at the pictures on the walls and furniture.

"Who's this?" Matsu pointed out a girl that seemed around the same age with chest length black hair and grey eyes. The newer pictures showed her in a wheelchair.

"That's Madeline. She's a friend of mine. She doesn't come around as often anymore though." She lifted up one of the multi-picture frames and allowed the moments with Madeline to float to the surface of her mind. "She can be a little bossy if you let her." She teased. "But she's also really fun, she likes telling stories at night."

"Bossy, huh? Sounds like someone I know…"

"Who Ka-Chan?" Kuji asked with no sense of irony what so ever.

"I don't know Ka-Chan. This morning you were kinda bossy…"

"What? What are you talking about that's different! I just wanted us to get to school at the correct time."

"Thank you Matsu-san…Wait you were talking about me!?"

'Memories.' Ryouko thought to herself. 'They are such terrible, wonderful things.' She looked at the trio and laughed to herself. Kuji had an angry scowl as she argued with the regretful Ka-Chan that tried to calm her down and Matsu that looked around for a change in topic. This school year just started, but she could see it had already changed for the better. 'I can see so many good ones waiting to be born.'

* * *

**It is important to note I do not own any of the Utaus mentioned: Kujiloid, Ka-Chanloid, Matsupoid. I guess I own Ryouko Ryuu since she hasn't existed before this.**


	4. Having Fun

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 4

"What do you mean it will take up to three hours? We're freezing in here!" Kuji hissed as a puff of air escaped her lips. She had on a long sleeved dark blue overcoat with a black long sleeved sweater white thick pants, dark blue snow boots and dark blue earmuffs.

"I'm a doctor not a mechanic!" Kenmochi lifted up the trunk to get the spare tire. "Alright, Matsu." He looked at the spare then to the taller male. He, unlike everyone else wasn't wearing a coat or something to cover his ears. In fact he wasn't even wearing the jacket he usually wore with his suit. He had on an orange long sleeve T, white gloves and a pair of brown pants.

"Uh, are you absolutely sure you feel OK in that?" He sounded a bit more uneasy since he noted how the sky seemed to darken in preparation for a snowstorm.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Oh, nothing…Help me pull this out please."

"I really appreciate you letting me come with you Miss Suzy." Ryouko said sweetly. She wore an emerald green coat with a light purple long sleeve shirt emerald green hat, black pants and an emerald green bow tying her hair back.

"No need to thank us, you're paying your own way after all." The woman had a warm gentle and motherly look about her. "The kids really enjoy your company anyway."

"We could probably turn the heat back on if you rolled up the window…" Ka-Chan rubbed her arms to warm then up. She wore a yellow puffy coat and pale green pants and hat. "We weren't freezing until you started that."

"Fine, I just don't want to miss anything." The vents began to hiss as warm air amassed into the vehicle.

"The snow isn't going to melt in three hours. We'll still be able to ski a little before it gets dark."

"I can't wait either. Every time I come here I swear there's more snow than the last time."

"I think we got it!" The good doctor shouted from the outside, giving Matsu a high five.

"Hey, they got it done pretty quickly. See Kuji we won't miss a thing." Ka-Chan tried to cheer her sister up.

"He's acting like he just finished open heart surgery…" Kuji rolled her eyes.

"Mr. Kenmochi is just like a big kid."

"Operation road trip shall commence!" The doctor took his position at the wheel and started up the van. The engine roared on without a hint of hesitation. He began to drive away when Kuji piped up.

"Um. Dad?" She was getting used to calling him that, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Yes, Kuji-Chan?"

"Don't you think you're forgetting something?"

"I don't think so…"

"Um, Mr. Kenmochi? Where's Sakura?"

"Who?"

"She means Matsupoid, dad."

"Oh my God." He forgot he told him to put the old wheel in the back. It didn't take long after their short detour that they found themselves at the private lodge they were renting. There was already a blanket of snow cast upon everything in the area when they got there, but the air around them seemed to promise even more was on the way.

"I'm not convinced we shouldn't wait until tomorrow to head out." Ka-Chan said worryingly, as she carried her bag into her room.

"I agree with Ka-Chan. The radio said a storm was going to arrive soon and stay all night." Suzy helped her 'Ex' with some of the Skis and snow boards.

"You would agree." The doctor whined in a whisper.

"What was that?" She glared at him like an Ex-wife normally does.

"It won't be so bad. I'm sure there's something we can do indoors."

"Matsu's right, I know for sure there's at least one TV in the living room. There was last time I was here with my parents and a bunch of board games too."

"Great, sounds fantastic." Kuji rolled her eyes. The moment they were done with unpacking what little they brought small white flakes began to float downward. Matsu was out in the van getting the last of the groceries they just purchased when one fell on his nose.

"Eh, I always thought of it as the Gods' dandruff."

"Dad?" He looked around, but everyone was still in the house. He shrugged and looked at the trees and shroud of white that stretched beyond him. "It looks so peaceful." He said before returning inside.

"Hey, Sakura, after you take that to the kitchen you wanna play with us?" Ryouko, Suzy, and Kenmochi sat at a table with some odd blocks in the middle.

"I don't think I know how to play that game."

"I'll teach you." Kenmochi offered. "It's my favorite game, but I haven't played it in so long."

"What are you guys doing?" Kuji went to investigate the four that appeared to be the source of so much clattering she heard while she tried to watch her soap opera.

"We're playing Mahjong." Matsu said happily. "Wanna play? You can have my spot for a while." He seemed rather confused when she started to laugh.

"Are you kidding? You'll never catch me playing that. It's for old people!" She laughed some more as she ignored her parents' cries of 'hey'.

"I like it." Matsu said in a quiet, almost whiny tone.

"Well of course you do. You already act like an old man and dress like one too."

"I like it too."

"That's just because you're weird, Ryouko-san." She then walked off to the kitchen.

"I'm so throwing a snow ball at her later."

"Me, too." Matsu said as he moved some tiles, then he flipped them. "Mahjong."

"Aw I was so close." The doctor pouted. His 'Ex' peaked over his shoulder.

"What are you talking about? You were way off."

"Hey, no peaking. You're a cheater, cheater pumpkin eater!" He covered his tiles protectively like a mother bird with its nest of chicks.

"Do I have to put you in the playroom with the rest of the four year olds?" She rolled her eyes when he stuck his tongue out at her.

By the time dinner was ready the flakes were less like trickling confetti and more like crashing puffs. They considered themselves blessed the building had its own generator because the lights were knocked out the minuet they finished their meal. Their night time lullaby was the occasional sound of a wayward whistling wind outside their window, but once the morning rolled around everything was calm and smothered with frost and snow.

"Careful guys, try not to step in holes and break your ankles." The man called out to the kids as they ran up the hill with their gear.

"What kind of advice is that?"

"You know you're starting to get a snotty tone like your daughter." The doctor mocked as he avoided a snowball.

"Wow, Ryouko, I didn't know you snowboarded." Ka-Chan stuck her skis in the ground to keep them in place.

"I've been playing around with it for a couple years, but I'm not that great at it."

"No one gets good at something until they practice a lot anyway."

"It's still really fun though." She suddenly noticed Kuji had her back turned to the other three, and a sly smirk overcame her usually innocent face. She quietly planned out her vengeance and escape, rolling up a particularly large ball of cold as she did it. The only thing she didn't think of 'who was behind her when she finally let the orb fly out of her hand'.

"Ugh!" Kuji screamed as she felt cold icy water knock off her earmuffs and get her hair wet, which wouldn't have bothered her at all if it wasn't freezing cold. She twisted around in a flash to see the culprit, but Ryouko had leaped behind some bushes which lead her to believe an unsuspecting Matsupoid was involved. "You're going to get it." She shook her fist at him.

"Kuji?" Matsu tried to turn around when he heard his sister scream only to feel someone tackle him to the snow face first. His glasses flew off his face and thankfully landed on a soft cushy surface as he fell. Ryouko didn't play any more tricks after that.

* * *

Doctor Kenmochi felt like a child being called to the principal's office as he walked down the sterile, short hall. Next to the large set of wood double doors was desk with a disinterested but observant secretary staring at him the whole way. This was worse than the principal's office.

"Miss Danielle Clementine will see you now Doctor Yoshi Kenmochi." She said once he was in front of the doors. She pushed a button that made the doors glide open right in front of him.

"You can come in now Doctor Kenmochi." The stern professionally dressed woman glanced up above her glasses from a file she was reading. She became irritated he was just standing there for a few seconds.

"Ah, yes'm." He strolled in a little faster than usual. The doors closed behind him once he was right in front of her desk. "You called me in here?"

"Of course, why else would you be here?" She quickly snapped. Her patience always flew out the door the minute he was involved. "There are some concerning abnormalities in these reports, Doctor. This is all the health reports of one of the specimens so far."

"What kind of abnormality?" He tried to look over to see it, but her cold stare made him back off.

"Have a seat already." She almost hissed as the doctor nervously plopped into the seat next to him. "In your reports I have noticed there is a growing inconsistency with the muscle to strength ratio in the male specimen." She flipped through the papers as she spoke, not looking him in the eye until she was done. "Care to explain that, Doctor?"

"It isn't impossible." He shifted under the attention she was giving him. "Considering the DNA we used on him this sort of thing was expected. After all, the creature we used-."

"I'm well aware of that Doctor Kenmochi." He shrunk in his seat a little. "I didn't call you here to discuss basics. I called you so that we can decide on the proper antidote for this predicament."

"What?" The doctor's eyes widened. "But Miss Clementine this is exactly one of the results you were looking for!" He quieted himself when she looked up at him again.

"That was before I realized you put the specimens in the middle of a suburb." Her tone was much more aggressive. "For what purpose did you do that, Doctor?"

"Well, Suzy and I decided it was the best place for them since we wanted to ensure they had other children their age to interact with."

"This isn't a social experiment, Doctor." She pushed her glasses from the tip of her nose. "Our faction of this facility is experimenting on human biology. We don't have room for errors in judgment."

"Miss Clementine you can't put three teenagers in isolation and expect them not to lose their minds."

"That brings up another important issue." Underneath all the medical files she pulled up a photo copy of a journal. "A few months ago there was an unusual entry in the male's journal. Do you know to which I'm referring?"

"Yes, Matsupoid thought he heard something in the woods, he wrote down he thought one of the girls were talking."

"You and I both know what it really was."

"We don't know for sure." Doctor Kenmochi crossed his arms. "It could have been someone hiding in the brush or a ghost."

"Is this a joke to you? Are you wasting the facility's resources on a prank?"

"Of course not. I-."

"Do you realize how much damage this specimen could do to itself and others around it?"

"That's just ridiculous!" Doctor Kenmochi shot up from his chair and slammed his hands on her desk. She only showed shock for a split second. "Matsu wouldn't hurt anyone! He won't even look at people without their consent! He's a good kid!"

"Doctor Kenmochi." She was almost speaking in a growl, but remained in a professional tone. "Might I remind you that you are a medical professional charged with overseeing the growth and development of experiments, you are to ensure that there is absolutely no chance for relapse for the sake of not only the project, but also the safety of your fellow man." She watched him seat himself once more. "It doesn't matter whether or not the specimen 'wanted to'. If its strength keeps escalating it wouldn't need to 'mean' it. All it would take is a miscalculation in power, even a friendly pat on the back could prove deadly. Let's not forget what would happen if his very mind relapsed."

"Then what would you suggest we do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" When he looked at her blankly she sighed heavily and reached into a drawer. "This is one of the few things that will no doubt be strong enough." She tossed the item in front of him.

"You, you can't mean…" With a shaking hand he grasped the item. The very thought made him sick. "I-I, don't-."

"If something goes wrong, and you're not man enough to take care of it. The damage is on you, Doctor Yoshi Kenmochi. Think about that the next time you go over there to play house."

* * *

"Are you excited yet?"

"Excited?" Matsu looked up from wiping off one of the desk to see Kuji standing next to him.

"You forgot, huh?" She narrowed her eyes.

"I thought your birthday already happened…" He said innocently.

"That's not what I'm talking about you dope!"

"Miss Kujiloid? Why aren't you sweeping?" The tan boar-like man crossed his arms when he walked back into the room.

"I-I was just resting for a second, Honey-Sensei!" She snatched up the broom next to her and swung it violently to and fro.

"Careful with that! You almost hit Yuki!" The teacher shook his head. "This girl…" He sighed and looked at Matsu with a smile that showed his dangerously pointy teeth. "So, Matsu I heard today's your birthday, congratulations!"

"Thank you Honey-sensei. I just think of it like any other day though."

Mr. Honey nodded. "Yes, that's true, but it's nice to celebrate while you're young enough, so why don't take a break for today. It's the end of the day and I'm sure the other students won't mind cleaning up your share."

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah, I'll finish the desks for you." A boy by the name of Rye offered.

"Wait, why didn't you let me leave early on my birthday?" Kuji pouted.

"Because he and Miss Ka-Chanloid actually do what they're told at all times instead of just when they think the teacher is looking."

"Um, Honey-Sensei? Can I leave too? I'm done with the windows." Ryouko asked with all three girls hoping he'd say yes so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

"Hm? Yeah, they look great. Go on ahead." Mr. Honey waved her and Matsu off.

"So, where to?" Ryouko ran to catch up with Matsu's head start. They were now dressed in their street clothes. Matsu in his normal formal attire and Ryouko in a black elbow sleeved dress with a small light green bow tied around her waist and another pulling back her hair.

"Home, I guess."

"Home? Now? Why don't we take a small walk in the park, or get some ice cream?"

"Well, we would have to take a small walk in the park to get home anyway, but some ice cream does sound nice."

"Ice cream it is then." She chirped happily. She grabbed his arm and directed him toward the Candy Cove restaurant.

"OK…" He shrugged. "Are you sure Ka-chan wouldn't mind me ruining my appetite?" He said as they pushed through the glass doors.

"Sakura. You're the hungriest guy I know. There's no way you'd ever ruin your appetite. Besides, it's just a quick cone."

"Alright." He seemed a bit perplexed. He wanted to know why she was acting so odd, but it seemed important to her that he didn't know, so he just went along for the ride. A few minutes later they were in the park with their half-eaten frozen treats that Ryouko insisted was her treat.

"So, you feel any different?" She rested herself carefully on the ground to avoid ruining her ice cream. "Since you turned fifteen?"

"Not that I know of." He sat next to her in the same fashion. "Do I look any different?" He asked curiously.

"No, but people used to ask me that every Birthday. Sometimes I would make something up to see if I was supposed to answer with something other than no."

"Like what?" He began to munch on his cone as quietly as possible.

"One time when I was five…" She paused, watching a turtle walk into view. "I told them I was growing a tail."

"A tail?" He watched the shelled creature with her. "Did they believe you?"

The girl giggled. "For a second they actually did, but when I told her I was kidding my Mama sent me to bed without supper."

"She didn't get the joke I guess." He smiled. "Did everyone stop asking after that?"

"My parents did." She finished off her cone before continuing. "Now they just ask how long my tail has gotten."

Matsu couldn't help but laugh. "You must have some fun birthdays." He turned back to her to see her digging into her bag. "Ryouko? Whatcha-?" She pulled out a small box on top of another flat one wrapped in a Christmas tree printed wrapping.

"Happy Birthday Sakura." She handed the bow to him. "I know it's not for the right holiday, but it's left over paper and Papa likes to reuse silly stuff like that."

"Ryouko…" He took the boxes and examined the smaller, more cube shaped one.

"I hope you like them." She felt a blush come over her as he open the first package.

"Hm? It's…" He lifted the fuzz thing out and let it dangle by its chain. It was a strange red fuzz-ball with a small orange set of propellers with two red stripes in the middle where the chain connected to it. "Kinda cute."

"You like it?" She asked with hope gleaming in her eyes.

"Yeah, but, what is it?"

"I don't know, but it looks like a red pinecone so when I saw it I thought of you." Matsu smiled he took the keychain and fastened it to one of the belt loops on his pants.

"A red pinecone it is." He then turned his attention to the more flat box.

"I wanted to give that one to you in the winter, but it took me longer than I thought to make it."

He looked at its contents, red beanie with an orange fluff at the top and two white orbs facing forward, one with an X and another with a swirly triangle. "You made this?" He held the knitted hat up and looked it over. "It looks so professional."

"I noticed how you never wear anything to bundle up when it's cold out. I know the cold doesn't bother you much, but I thought I'd get you a hat so Ka-Chan and Mr. Kenmochi won't worry so much. They didn't have any that fit you, so Mama helped me with knitting when she was off w-." She nearly gasped when she felt his arms embrace her in an uplifting hug. She felt a warm blush color her face red as he pulled her close. His eyes watered a little as he said, "Thanks Ryouko-Chan," a smile spread across his face as he looked at his new favorite article of clothing.

* * *

**What's this, Conflict? Geeze, great... 9-9**

**If you're hoping for the aforementioned Vocaloid it's gonna be a while for that one. Eh heh. ^.^"**


	5. Discovering Limits

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 5

"Hey, Yoshi, something wrong?" Dr. Kenmochi looked up from flattening out the table cloth to see Suzy stepping down from the ladder she used to hang the 'Happy Birthday' banner.

"What would give you that idea?" He had a failed attempt of a comforting smile on his face.

"You haven't been visiting the kids at all for the past week. Are you upset because Kuji made fun of your cannon ball?" She had her hand propped on one of her hips. The two shot up when the door to the dining room was opened, but calmed down once they realized it was just Ryouko's dad.

"I got the balloons!" He said cheerfully. The floating red, yellow, and orange orbs smacked against the ceiling with a collective 'bonk'. "And I brought my world famous deviled eggs!" The man said proudly as he held the plastic container up carefully. He noticed the glum atmosphere. "Well, Ka-Chan and Ryouko said they were good…" He mumbled as he scattered the balloons around the room and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked a bit more aggressively.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about work is all." He subconsciously placed a hand on his hip. He suddenly felt his hand touch the handle hiding under his coat and his body shuddered violently.

"Are you OK, Yoshi? Do you have a fever?" She practically slapped her hand on his forehead as she attempted to feel for any sign of illness.

"I'm fine. I just felt a breeze that chilled me." He pushed her hand off and ran toward the door.

"Chill? From the AC? Matsu does turn it down a lot." She thought to herself, she then noticed Yoshi leaving. "Where are you going? We'll just turn up the temp in the house! It's no big deal."

"Relax, I'm just heading out to get my…present for him." He felt a lump well up in his throat. He lightly closed the door and slumped against it. This the first time he's been back since the 'Business Meeting'. In that long week he hasn't slept or eaten too much. All he could think about was the last thing Miss Daniele said to him. "If you're not man enough the damage is on you." Then he would imagine it. He would try to ready the item, the weapon she gave him and he would try to imagine Matsu. He tried to ready himself for look on the teen's face. Tried to imagine a look of fear, sadness, and betrayal, but all he could think of was his sweet smile. A smile that reminded him of Sai before he… Something in him would usually snap at this point and his mind would simply shut down. He would just stand there in the middle of his apartment with a blank face, finger on the trigger, tears staining his cheeks.

"I-I." He ran his hands though his hair, gritting his teeth so hard he swore they were about to go numb. He felt the impression of the weapon pressing against him. "I, have to-."

"Hey, dad I just got the candles! I had to sneak by Matsu to get here though. We better hurry I don't think Ryouko could keep him occupied much longer."

"Huh?" He looked up to see Ka-Chan running up to him with a bag in her hands. "Something wrong?" She asked once she finally noticed his expression.

"Of course not." He barely managed a meaningful smile. "I was just heading to my car when I tripped and hit the ground." He cringed at the weak excuse, but mentally sighed in relief when she seemed to buy it.

"Did you bump your head?" She immediately threw the bag down and ran up to him worryingly examining her father's skull for any sign of trauma.

"Hey, hey! Shouldn't I be the parent?" He asked with a laugh as she flipped though his hair. "Knock it off you little monkey." He stood up and patted her on the head. "I'm fine, just a bruise on my pride. Don't worry about me it's your-." He stopped, the lump making its presence known a second time. "It's your brother's big day today."

"If you insist…" Ka-Chan looked at him with concerned eyes as he walked over to his car. She finally retrieved the package and escorted herself to the kitchen when he got in the vehicle and appeared to search for something.

He waited for the door to close before he slumped into the seat and buried his head into his hands. "What am I doing?" He whined. "These are just experiments. They're nothing but sophisticated lab rats. Why am I so weak?" He felt a rage flow over him. He cried out as his fist hit the dashboard with all his might, ignoring the pain spreading through his arms.

"Why can't I terminate one stupid Specimen!?" He rested his head on the wheel for minute, before he heard the glove compartment fall open from the blow to the vehicle. He looked up to see something flop out of the compartment.

"Is that-." He picked up the box and lifted the lid before he realized what he was doing. Inside was a red origami crane. He suddenly remembered that cranes were Matsu's favorite, and that he had given Doctor Kenmochi this for Father's day since he didn't know what else to get him. Jammed into the box next to the paper fowl was a photo of the three spci-.

It was a photo of Kujiloid, Ka-Chanloid, and last but not least Matsupoid. Even Kuji had a smile on, such a rare gem for him. Three insane, enthusiastic, intelligent, skilled, caring, happy, wonderful children smiling in a photo they took for their father. A father they loved very much.

Yoshi closed his eyes. He knew what he had to do, what his purpose was now. He yanked the thing at his side with its holster and shoved in the glove compartment, cursing the monster who gave it to him. He sighed heavily as a weight lifted of his chest. He could breathe again. He could smile freely now. "I'm not going to let you take them. Not without a fight."

* * *

"Ah, summer! My favorite season!" Kuji yelled happily as she stuck her head out the car window to breath in the salty air. She pressed her hand onto her head to stop her sun hat from being blown away by the wind escaping the sea. Her loose thin sky blue thigh high long sleeved dress with white bordering frills flapped violently with the breeze. It was almost thin enough to see the classy two piece bathing suit underneath. The bottom piece resembled a mini skirt with a nearly unnoticeable picture of a killer whale on the bottom right corner and the top was the same aqua color that covered most of her chest but tied in a spaghetti strap on her middle back and wrapped around her neck at the top.

"Kuji-san put your head back in the car before you swallow a bee again!" Suzy frowned.

"There aren't any bees near the b-." She fell back into the moving vessel as she tried to cough up the insect that was unfortunate enough to be in her trajectory. Ka-Chan started to pat her on the back with a comforting 'there, there', shaking her head all the while. Ka-Chan had on a one piece under her white short-sleeve T-shirt and tan surfer shorts. The yellow polka-dotted one piece was as conservative as most of her clothing. She also had on classy sunglasses and a denim baseball cap.

"Here, give her some of my water." Ryouko handed the bottle over to Ka-Chan. She had on a lime green two piece with a flowered ankle long wrap tied at her waist and a lime green ribbon tied in a bow around her neck. She fell back into her seat only to notice Matsu was pressing himself as far against the door as he could.

He wasn't doing this to be rude, of course. It took all the energy he could muster not to start panting like a shaggy dog. He wore a red pair of shorts that were folded to show the orange side just above the knee and an orange button-up shirt with red bold lines at the end of the rolled up to the elbows sleeves and along the buttons. He felt guilty enough unbuttoning his shirt to show his bare chest, he didn't want to get his sweat on her too as he fanned himself with one of Kuji's fashionable wave-printed paper fans. Don't worry, he asked first.

"Sakura? Do you want some water too?" Ryouko asked with a new bottle ready.

"Yes, thank you Ryouko-Chan." He sounded a bit more desperate than he wanted to as he reached for the nice, cool liquid. He drank a big gulp before pressing it to his face.

"Um, you feel OK?"

"No! I swallowed a bug!" Kuji chocked and hacked in the middle seat again.

"Sakura, you alright?" She asked again more specific this time.

"Hm? I'm fine. I'm just a little warm." The car finally stopped. It was fairly close to the destination, but it was not quite early enough to get a whole empty beach. The beach was loosely littered with towels, umbrellas, folding chairs, and the people who brought them. Matsu and Yoshi lifted up the cooler, or more accurately Matsu carried while Yoshi held it to give the impression he was helping.

"This is a good spot, not too far or too close." Ryouko pointed to a spot in the middle of a clearing. She waited for the other's approval before she placed her sea turtle towel. She held a floatie ring over her shoulder.

"Not near any moron's blaring radio." Kuji nodded in approval as she unfolded hers and Ka-Chan's chairs. When her work was done she placed her dress on her chair and bolted to the sea with Ka-Chan riding piggyback who seemed resistant and unsure. She took a few steps and swan dived into the gently lapping waves.

"Sometimes I wonder if she's secretly a mermaid." Suzy steadied the umbrella.

"Well, I have heard stories that mermaids are beautiful in the flesh but rotten with the need to bring men to their doom." Yoshi said jokingly as he gulped a bottle of juice he retrieved from the cooler. He started to have a vicious coughing fit when Suzy smacked him in the back of his head. "I was joking! I was joking!" He said between coughs, holding his hands up in a show of surrender.

Matsu wiped the sweat off his brow as he sat next to his father on the cooler. He started to fan himself again. He almost didn't notice the green-eyed girl skipped up to him with the inflatable tube around her waist.

"Let's go into the water, Sakura!" He stood up and nodded. He secretly hoped the water was still cold from the night chill. He stopped midway once he realized he shouldn't take his glasses, and then ran back to ask Suzy to make sure no one sat on them. She was reading a book on her towel so she agreed, placing it next to her on his folded button-up shirt as he ran to catch up to his friend.

The ocean was quite cool. Matsu sighed in relief as he felt the crystal clear water greedily consumed his lower half. He took a moment to soak it in, closing his eyes until a wave of water slapped him in the face. He opened his eyes expecting to see Ryouko but he found Ka-Chan giggling at him mischievously.

He didn't give her much time before she found herself covered by a liquid wall herself. The wave was oddly much colder than the rest of the water. It was almost freezing but it came by so quickly her mind didn't even bother to register the abnormality. He saw Ryouko playfully kicking in the deep water as she watched her own feet over the float and threw some on her too. She squeaked with surprised and sipped into the water to avoid any further assaults.

He was hit with another from Ka-Chan and tried to return his own when Ryouko shot up from the water behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck so she could weigh him down enough to sink him. It didn't work too well. They just kind of floated there for a second until she decided to shove him into the water.

"Truce?" He asked when he surfaced. Ryouko and Ka-Chan responded with another splash. The three continued with their water war, giggling like a trio of Kindergarteners.

It was midday when they walked out of the water back to their spot. Now they had to tip-toe around people that had come about later. There were a few or ten sand 'castles' that Matsu almost stepped on, luckily he only knocked over five and most of the kids who built them weren't even paying attention. Not having his glasses on made it difficult to maneuver.

"Sorry." He apologized one last time before he finally managed his way back. He felt the heat dry the water off his skin. It had gotten much hotter since they got here.

"Hey Sakura. Let's build our own sand castle!" The sleepy-eyed girl suggested as she re-attached her wrap. She sat on the ground next to him and they started to pile up the sand.

"I think you need some water to make it stay." Ka-Chan looked around in search of a bucket.

"Boy, it's starting to get bad here. Maybe we should spend the rest of the day at the house." Suzy said as she waved the heat away with her book.

"No, can we stay a few hours longer?" Kuji ran up from the sea. She actually sounded a little childish. "A couple at least?" She begged. She carried a water friendly bag with water pouring out the holes that carried a few treasures she found while diving.

"Yeah, an hour or two won't hurt. How about it, Suzy?" Yoshi asked sweetly. For once Kuji was glad her dad opened his fat mouth. Suzy was about to open her mouth to say something when they heard a plop next to them.

"Sakura!" Ryouko reached out to wake the male that had fallen in the sand. His skin was very warm so she took the cooler and threw what was left of the ice on him along with all the cans, bottles, and box lunches.

"On second thought, maybe we should hit the showers…" Kuji said glumly. Ka-Chan stood next to her and gave her the 'they'll be another day' speech. Steam lifted off the hot sand as Matsu sat up ice and metal and plastic shifted under his movements. He had a dazed look on his face, but he also seemed apologetic toward Kuji as they walked everything back to the car.

"I'm not mad at you Matsu-kun. You can stop saying sorry." She rolled her eyes as he apologized for apologizing. "It's not your fault."

"Really? You're not gonna yell at Sakura?" Ryouko and Ka-Chan looked at each other with impressed looks. 'Maybe she's learning to control herself.' They thought.

"Why are you looking at me like that, hm?" She eyed them with a death glare that silenced the two girls.

It wasn't long before they reached the old inn they would stay in. A small but well equipped facility with Japanese style motif. An elderly couple that owned the building greeted them at the lobby and gave them the room keys. There were a few other workers were scattered about the premises as well, but it seemed that most of the rooms were unoccupied. It seemed a little abandoned.

"This is the perfect setting for Ghost stories." Ryouko spoke with glee as they put up their bags. "I can't wait until night falls. I know just the one to tell." She could hardly contain the giggles.

"It'll be a while before that. Right now I'm trying to think about the best place to have lunch since we had to throw out the boxed ones." Suzy thought about it as she carried her bag to her mat mattress. She grew up here so she knew it well.

"It hasn't changed much since you were little, has it?" Ryouko asked curiously.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but fast food joints and vending machines aside it has stayed mostly the same. It must be really lucky considering its closer to Tokyo than most towns. Although I haven't gotten to see the whole town yet…" She looked out to the open doors and over the veranda at the pretty view. "Is there anything you guys are hankering for?"

"I was hoping this place had a kitchen…" Ka-Chan frowned. "But a cheeseburger would be nice."

"Hm, that or Sushi."

"I kinda want pizza…"

"Right…Let's just hope when we ask the boys they don't say something totally different…" Suzy began to rub her temples.

"Where is dad anyway?"

"He went to check on Matsu to see if he's cooled off yet. They should be coming back any minute now."

"Poor Sakura…"

"Who?" Yoshi asked with a confused look as he walked in.

"She means me, dad." Matsu walked in after. He was dressed in a tan pair of shorts, a red pair of sneakers and the same shirt as before which he still neglected to button up with a towel around his neck and his favorite hat in his hand. He was still drying his hair off before he put it on. "Whatcha talking about?" His little red keychain dangled off his side as he walked.

"We're trying to decide where to eat." Suzy threw her hands up. "And so far we got burgers, pizza, and sushi."

"Pizza, of course."

"Sushi, please?" Suzy sighed. She kind of wanted a burger. So the gang settled on a compromise, Suzy and Yoshi left to get the to-go orders from several different areas and taking them back to the others who waited at the inn. As they made their round trip Suzy asked Yoshi if he could drive by a certain area before heading back.

"Sure, down here?" He pointed at a long dirt road that snaked into a mass of woods.

"If you don't mind. It won't take long."

"No problem." He looked at her and noticed she looked a bit sad more than nostalgic. "So where does this lead, anyway?"

"N-nowhere, really."

"It's the 'asylum' isn't it?" Suzy couldn't stop herself from gasping. She'd forgotten he told him about that.

"Yeah, I wanted to see if she was still there…" The road ended and at the end was a large old house. It had seen better days; the brush around it seemed all but swallow the entire thing as vines and even trees grew around it and what was visible was cracked or filled with holes.

"Nana…" Suzy's eyes watered up slightly. This was the home of her aunt. She was the woman who took her in when her parents couldn't take the time to care. She hadn't spoken to her for three years. She simply fell out of touch, a simple thing to do since Nana never bothered to pick up her phone, couldn't figure out how to use the 'contraption'.

"Suzy…" Dark, thundering clouds seemed to add to the darkened mood.

"It's fine…I figured-."

"Who's that in my yard!?" An elderly voice cried out from the newer, smaller house a little further off into the trees.

"Nana!?"

The group of kids gathered together in one room. They were playing a card game for what felt like hours. "It looks like a storm's coming." Kuji said as she looked out the window with a bored expression.

"It's getting pretty dark…Hey. Maybe now it's dark enough to tell spooky stories." Ryouko said as she twiddled her fingers to look 'scary'.

"That sounds fun." Matsu said what everyone was thinking. He stood up before adding. "But do you think you can wait a few minutes? I think I'm going to the vending machine to get some snacks."

"They are taking a lot of time… Matsu-kun? Can you get me some too?" Kuji asked almost sweetly as he went to change out of his slippers.

"Me too please, here." Ryouko tried to give him some of her money, but he held up his hand to refuse it.

"It's OK, I got enough. Ka-Chan, you want anything?"

"No, thanks any way Matsu-Kun."

"You sure, Sakura?"

"Yeah." He left and quickly found the vending machines he saw earlier. He made the requested selections and put them in the pockets of his shorts and shirt before heading back. On the way he managed to bump into a hot headed old man sweeping the floor.

"Oh, excuse me." He bowed the best he could without letting Ryouko's drink fall out of his chest pocket.

"You little punk you should-." The bearded old man gasped when he saw Matsu's face. His dark and yellowed eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Sir? Are you alright?" He looked at the old man with a concerned look.

"I, I'm fine! I…Just thought you were someone else…" The old man had a sad expression on his face as he remembered. "If you'll excuse me I have work to do…" He walked off with his head deep in thought. Matsu couldn't help but notice the old man had a pressed pink cherry blossom poking out a wallet in his back pocket.

"Funny, I think I heard his voice somewhere before…"

* * *

**Ooooh, Resolution and Mystery!**


	6. Conquering Fears

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 6

"This candidate is intriguing." Danielle pushed her glasses up this bridge of her nose. She stood in a laboratory with the second male doctor Matsu saw the first time he woke up. She was looking at a video he had presented to her. "Why haven't you collected a sample yet, Doctor Kimchi?" She asked.

"It's very difficult to draw blood from this candidate. I can't find it let alone shoot it with a sleeping dart. It keeps moving."

"You managed to catch the other one, didn't you?" She raised a brow at him.

"Well, you see…That one wasn't quite as active, Miss Clementine." He motioned toward the video replay to drive the statement home.

"If you want a specimen you'll find a way, Dr. Kimchi." She uncrossed her arms and took one last look at the sampling candidate. Funny, you'd think with a face like that the odd creature would sleep more than anything. She was about to leave when the doctor spoke.

"What about the originals? How are we going to introduce them with the new specimen?"

"We won't have to. We're starting fresh after I gather enough data." She left the room, the click and clack of her heels became fainter as she did.

"Starting fresh…He, you hear that Mr. Kenmochi?" The man hunched in on himself as he laughed wickedly, speaking to no one. "There won't be room for mistakes this time! Ha haa! It'll all be perfect for us again!"

* * *

There was fresh, crisp dew on the grass as the sun climbed away from the horizon. Ryouko sprang out of her bed as soon as her eyes flew open. She stretched her arms and let out a groan. She looked about the inn room. The rest of the girls were still under the covers, except Suzy. She had kicked her covers off and snored lightly in an awkward position.

"I wonder if the boys are up yet." She put on her purple and yellow shoes before leaving their room. She looked out at the sun rise, resting her arms on the railing.

"Isn't it beautiful? I try to get up every morning to see it." She glanced up to see Matsu fully dressed hat, dark dress pants, a yellow unbuttoned shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a white short sleeved shirt underneath. He looked at her with the day's first light giving his easygoing smile and friendly eyes a warm glow.

"Good Morning, Sakura. I thought you'd be up." She said sweetly. "What do you do after the sunrise? I think we have an hour before Suzy wakes up and she's usually the one to wake everyone if it's not Ka-Chan.

"Different things…Sometimes I read, one time I tried to wake dad, but he's a heavy sleeper. He also talks in his sleep too."

"What does he say?" A smile spread across her face in anticipation of the silly answer.

"Well." He took a moment to absorb her cute smile before he answered. Her sleepy eyes had so much energy hidden behind them. "He usually mumbles something about 'sweet peaches' or 'just one more time Suzy'."

"That's so sad…"

"What do you mean?"

"He still loves her."

"Probably," Matsu wasn't exactly playing along. He had considered them his parents because they made him and he saw how they were together. They acted so much like real parents. "But we can't change anything. It's up to them if they decide they still love each other that way." He had an unusually serious and mature tone as he said that he glanced back at the scenery beyond the veranda. "They shouldn't get back together if they don't. It'll just be harder on everyone involved."

"You're right. I never thought of it like that…" She rested her head on the railing. "It's just. They both seem like such nice people. How could they ever fall out of love with each other?"

"Who knows? They don't talk about it with us. They try not to burden us with that, but they probably just grew apart. It happens a lot to couples who don't talk to each other often."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"I have wondered about it once or twice, but I'm not too worried. They seem so happy right now, why push it?"

"Are you happy?" She looked back at him and his eyes met with hers in his usual smile.

"The happiest I've ever been."

They began to hear something move about in one of the rooms. It seemed the day was ready to begin. The crew was up earlier than usual. Suzy wanted to get up extra early to get a good parking spot in a place that didn't take long to get a decent amount of tourists. The area was surrounded by a vast amount of trees as the colorful tracks came in to view. They curved awkwardly and raised high into the sky, just ready for the screams to fill the air. Ka-Chan looked at it nervously, twiddling her fingers subconsciously.

The sky was quite cool even in the morning it was quite unusual for that time of year. The park had just allowed visitors in for the day, but the parking lot was already a quarter full. Cobblestone marked the way to the main gate. A thick and lively gathering of woods surrounded them as they followed it. The entrance to the park was just ahead with a small shack-like souvenir store just ahead of it.

"That line looks kind of long. Maybe we should head back…" Ka-Chan saw the perfect excuse standing at the ticket windows.

"It's not as bad as it usually is." A girl with long brown hair tied back in a straight ponytail and black rimmed glasses walked by. "This is half the amount since the forecast said there would be rain." She added as she walked to the end of one of the lines, her German themed and Gachapin key chains on her brown backpack jingling with every step she took.

"Rain? I knew we should have checked the radio, but you had to put on the music!"

"The kids enjoyed it." Yoshi shrugged, remembering how they sang the whole way. "We're here now. We might as well make the most of it."

"Make the most of it…" Ka-Chan gulped. The wait wasn't as long as she had hoped, and only a minute later they were in the park. A large fountain greeted them to one of a few courtyard-like areas surrounded by a few stores and a restaurant modeled after houses found in the English countryside. Not far off there was an area made colorful and bright for young children and past that the path branched off to more areas in the park.

"Oh, maps." Yoshi grabbed up two maps and handed one to Suzy. He sat on the fountain's wide ledge to read it with the others. "Let's see what we want to do. We could split up in case the kids want to do different things. You got your cell, right?"

"I guess we could." She handed hers to the kids so they could decide what they liked best. "It's not too crowded…"

"These shows look fun." Kuji suggested as she looked at the live step dancing show, the play, and animals' areas. "I would also like to see the swans."

"Can we ride the roller coasters? They look exiting!" Ryouko pointed at the tallest one on the map. "I think I want to ride this one first."

"It'll make a great view of the park." Matsu shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked at the track looming high above them even so far away. "I think I want to ride that too."

"Excellent choice!" The girl that spoke to them earlier sat next to them. "You'll get a great chance to see everything. They let you hang there for a few minutes before the first drop. Your feet are dangling and everything. It's really best at night, and then you can see all the lights of the park." She said a little too excitedly.

"Dangling feet?" Ka-Chan's eyes widened as the girl threw in a coin before heading to a candy store to get a giant cookie with a friend. "I-I think I want to see those shows too."

"I'll take you two." Suzy offered. "We'll meet up for lunch…" She took the map offered by Matsu. "Um…Das Festhaus? It says it has a restaurant and show midday."

"Sounds like a plan!" Yoshi hopped up.

"Wait Yoshi, make sure you have your phone this time." Suzy said with a questioning brow raised with hands on her hips.

"What? Why? I've got it-…" He put his hand on his back pocket and froze.

"Um, dad? I have mine."

"…It's a good thing you don't take after him." Suzy laughed as she lead two of the kids to the right path.

"See you at twelve." Kuji waved them goodbye.

"Let's see. I think the first show to start is in the theatre just over this bridge." A wide, wooden bridge held down with large visible bolts stretched over a small river just below them that fell from a scenic series of rocks forming a stretched waterfall.

"This isn't so bad…" Ka-Chan looked over the railing at the trickling water.

"Oh, I wish I could go swimming in it." Kuji looked at it next to her. "What do think Ka-Chan? It looks great huh?"

"Yeah, looks safe, at least."

"Huh?" Kuji looked at her with a baffled glance. "Safe?"

"C'mon, we're going to miss the show!" Suzy ushered them into the new area circled by the Irish inspired buildings.

"We have two minutes. Can't we shop around a little?" Kuji asked. She wanted to check out the fancy looking store that had the crystal displayed.

Suzy sighed but waved them to go on. "I'll tell you when your time is up."

"Man, she's worse than you on a school day."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for your better interest. She just hates being late period."

"Maybe we should ride this one first." Matsu pointed to the first roller coaster in the park. It was a relatively small yellow track with many loops.

"That line's longer than it looks, trust me." The girl with the glasses sipped from a large cup as she walked out from the Clydesdales' stalls. "It curves around and the building is segmented. A lot of the lines are like that, or more accurately all of them." She walked off to join the line.

"You want to try it anyway?" Yoshi asked. He looked at the line, noticing the odd submarine ball just past the starting point that had the middle of the line curled around it.

"Hm, let's try the next one."

"Okay, Matsu-Kun…" He lifted up the map to look. "The next one…Uh, I think we went the wrong way to get to the biggest ride…"

"Hey, what about that one. I like the colors!" Ryouko pointed at the one on the very bottom.

"That is closer…" Yoshi started to scratch his stubble.

"And we don't have to walk. We can take the train." Matsu motioned to the source of the alarming whistle. The locomotive was small compared to normal trains, its cars open air booths with roofs that faced one side. It chugged to a nearby station right on time as a voice coming from the other end of a store warned passengers not to get in until it fully stops. They hurried along to catch up to it and the lack of fellow passengers giving them a stall to themselves.

The train ride over was slow, but nice. The man at the head of the train told them about the vehicle's design and about the history of the park and new attractions as they passed by trees and fields of some sheep for some reason.

"Huh, that's not supposed to be here…" Yoshi looked at the animas with a quizzical look. "Do they shave them and make sweaters, or…"

"Maybe they keep them here for the train ride." Seconds later they reached the next station. The voice told the passengers not to get off until the vehicle had stopped. This area was scattered with carnival games in booths done up to look like the ruins of Rome. They walked past then to get to one of the more renowned coasters. It was once the highest in the park. The first and largest drop started with a small bump after a long steep climb before steeply dropping on yellow and purple tracks. The line had ended at the start of the building, a bad sign.

"I can't believe they can move that fast." Suzy said with amazement as she looked at the watch. "I think that pet show is coming on in a minute, you want to see it?"

"Not really." They started to walk up a steep slope. Areas with animals ranging from sheep with Border collie to wolves bordered the path they walked. At the top of the slanted hill were two open air theatres at each end. Sounds of music and laughter told them the shows had started anyway, so they opted to go to the foot of the hill where the bird sanctuary was.

"My feet are killing me." Kuji slumped onto a chair at the sanctuary's entrance. She took off her blue flats and rubbed her feet through her mid shin socks. "What kind of monster puts roads that steep in a park?"

"Maybe we…we should have…have gone the other…other way." Ka-Chan could barely speak between breaths.

"I'll get you guys some drinks, OK? Stay here." Suzy walked over to a nearby vender in portable cart filled with cold drinks and ice cream.

"Ka-Chan? Are you OK?" Kuji asked after watch their mother walk away.

"I'm just…a little out of breath."

"I don't mean that. I mean before, when we were on the bridge and on the fountain, and in the car." She sounded the most concerned she'd ever been since she was created.

"It's nothing…" Kuji's aggravated look made her shrink.

"You can't hide it from me. You're always helping me. Trying to stop me from doing something stupid and comforting me when I need it. Why can't you let me do the same? Don't you trust me?"

"I'm sorry." She broke. "It's that blue track. It's, it's so…"

"Tall?" Kuji finished with one foot and moved on to the next. "It's heights, isn't it?" The shorter of the two nodded.

"It started at the house. When I was first brought to the house, I remember walking up the stairs for the first time. When I looked back down I started to feel a sharp pain in my neck and cheek. I suddenly saw myself falling down them. It was so real. I could hear my own neck breaking… The only reason go to the second floor was because of the railing."

Kuji was silent for a short time. She absorbed what her sister had just told her. "I can relate to that. I used to fear the water up until three months ago. I couldn't stop myself from imagining myself drowning. My throat would burn like crazy whenever I was near it." Ka-Chan looked up at her with a gasp.

"Water, you? H-how'd you get over that?"

"I learned about it. Then when I got an interest for it I took a cup of water and I would keep it in my room. Soon enough I got so used to it I took that bucket you couldn't find, then I filled the tub and eventually the pain stopped. By the time Matsu joined us I loved the water, and as it turns out I'm a great swimmer and diver." She finally finished messaging her feet and returned them to their rightful place in her shoes.

"Wait, you didn't shower for two weeks?"

"That's what you took from that?" Kuji asked with a snarky attitude.

"Well, no it's just-."

"Look, if you want to keep this fear and let it hold you back that's your business, but if you ask me you're too smart to let something as dumb as fear hold you back." She said with a turned up nose. "Who knows? Maybe after you get over your fear, you'll learn you can fly or something…"

"Thank you, Kuji-Chan." She hugged her sister warmly.

"Yyyeah, great now get off."

"Here you go girls. I think I remember which flavors are your favorites." Suzy walked up with two filled souvenir cups. They spent some time in the bird house, some landing on the railing near them or even on their shoulders and head. Suzy seemed worried about droppings, since she tried to stay as far away from them as possible and held the map over her head.

Ka-Chan seemed to the only one comfortable having the birds land on her. They hoped around her hair and played with her ponytail she ended up having to retie it when they left, which they did after Kuji violently shooed the aviaries away when a couple of them pecked at her pearl earrings and her lip.  
"I'm sorry, they don't usually do that." They worker there apologized for the tenth time. "Especially this little guy. He only bites at nectar and fish like that."

"It's fine. I'm not bleeding or anything." She said before the left the area. They spent most of their time in a French inspired section. They were looking through the shops and spending the rest in the area with log built shops that housed candles and pottery.

"C'mon, run, run, and run! We're almost late!" Suzy ran with the other two in two as she ran blindly with the watch in front of her. They jolted across the German cottage stores to their agreed destination. They ended up five minutes late, and guess who was waiting.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." Yoshi said smugly. He looked at the time on the cell phone he was holding. "Twelve O' Five. Huh, wasn't it supposed to be Noon sharp?" He mocked with a sly grin. Matsu and Ryouko were sitting on a nearby wall that came at knee height to protect bushes and flowers. They were sharing a large chocolate-covered rice crispy treat from a shop in the German area. They offered pieces to the girls who slumped next to them to catch their breath.

"Says the guy who has to use his son's cell since he forgot to bring his own." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"You're just mad because you realize you're wrong about me." He said with a proud pose. "I can keep good time."

"Oh, alright I was wrong. Happy?" She asked as she walked into the large, welcoming building.

"Very." He followed, almost forgetting the kids until he was about to open the door. "Guys, stop making me look bad." The building was just as grand on the inside as the outer layer. The first room was the largest, taking up three quarters of the entire building. Benches and tables were arranged around a stage. Several large archways lead to a sort of cafeteria with German styled food like wursts, chocolate cake, and sauerkraut. In the very back two wooden doors were held open to allow people into a café walled off from the rest of the place.

Rain started to fall before the kids went into shelter making three run in at full speed. They collected the foods they wanted, paid for them and sat down at an empty spot as the show started. It was a musical reenactment of several of Brothers Grimm's fairytales tastily fused into one.

"Why are you're clothes wet?" Suzy finally noticed.

"It started to rain just before we came in."

"Hm. I doubt it will stop before we're done…We should probably leave after we eat."

"That ride was so great! Right, Sakura?"

"I almost lost my hat on that ride…"

"You wore your hat on a roller coaster? You should know the force would take it away."

"I learned that the hard way…"

"I'm going to head to the bathroom, OK mom?"

"Sure, Ka-Chan do you know where it is?"

"Near the entrance." She pointed to the small hall with the telltale sign. Her mother nodded and she went off to do her business. When she was on her way back a young girl stopped her.

"Atsune! Daddy look! It's Atsune!" A girl tugged onto a man's pant leg.

"Who?" Ka-Chan tilted her head.

"Kaede, we've been over this. She's gone sweetie."

"But she's right there." The child tried to motion to the girl returning to her family.

"Honey, it's rude to point."

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure. I think she thought I was someone else." By the time they had finished their midday meal the sun had started to dry what was left of the sudden showers. The group was walking back to the French area when they stopped.

"Hey, it's that ride, and its line is so short!" Ryouko looked innocently at the others. "Can we ride one last roller coaster, please?"

"Sure, we'll wait over here."

"Why don't we all go?" Ka-Chan started to walk toward the line. She looked at the track that rose high above her straight down to a path that snaked under the bridge she stood on.

"Are you certain about that?" Kuji asked with a great amount of concern.

"Yeah, I'm going to face my fears, head on."

* * *

**...Self insertion much?**


	7. Seeing Things

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 7

"So, you think they're going to make it a Library?" Kuji was referring to the new space that had a skeleton of a building propped in the middle of the town's commercial side. The children were sitting on the train leading out of town with Ryouko's dad, Kyoto.

"That's what the worker told Papa, right?" She turned to her father on the seat.

"Yeah, but then the guy next to him said it would be a movie theatre." He shrugged.

"I wonder if it would be ready by the time the festival rolls around. You know, so they can have some sort of grand revealing since no one knows what it is." Ka-Chan looked up from the book she was reading.

"I don't know if a month is long enough…" Kyoto reached into his bag of snacks he got from the snack lady and tried to crunch as politely as possible, then offering a piece to Matsu, who sat across from his daughter.

"All I know is, it better be a theatre so we don't have to leave town just to see a decent movie." Kuji crossed her arms. The long sleeves of her coat managed the smack Ka-Chan and Matsu this time.

"Hm, So any idea the movie you want to see when we get there?" Kyoto looked out the window to see how close they were to the city. "We still have twenty minutes though."

"Ugh, I wish it didn't take so long to get to the city." She rested her head against the back of the seat with a dejected sigh.

"Kuji-San, are you alright, you seem more agitated than usual."

"She's just excited about going to the movies Mr. Ryuu." Ka-chan explained. "We've never actually been to a theatre. We usually just watch them on DVDs."

"What do you mean by 'more' agitated than usual?" Kuji narrowed her eyes at the bearded man.

"Um, I meant-."

"I guess you never went out much since you only get to see your parents once a month and a week of summer and winter vacation."

"We are starting to see them more often now…Dad especially."

"I'm so glad we don't have school tomorrow." Kuji unintentionally broke up the moment. "I want to shop after we see the movie and with so many interesting stores in the city we'll be there all night."

"All night?" Kyoto slumped into his seat.

"Dad? That's OK with you, isn't it?"

"Hm? Uh, yeah I'm just more used to spending time fetching you out of a tree and getting lizards out of your room than walking around a store."

"Well, at least you don't have to hunt for lizards anymore, right?" She laughed at her dad's expression.

"As far as I know…"

"The mountain, we passed it, didn't we?" Matsu looked out the window only to see trees surrounding them.

"Yeah, sorry Sakura. You'll see it on the way back." She looked up at the window she was next to. "We came out the tunnel not too long ago." The trees were starting to become further and further apart.

"It was on the other side anyway. You'll see it on the way back if it isn't too dark."

The train pulled into the station with a metallic screech followed by the sound similar to escaping steam. The station was crowded and filled with the chatter of a hundred conversations.

"No! Don't push the red button!" A man yelled into his cell as the group pulled by him, trying to exit the crowd of noisy commuters. The city was bright and sunny in contrast to its breath revealing cold. The chatter had decreased a great deal even with the substitute of the occasional beeping horns.

"Oh, it looks so beautiful!" Kuji cried, clasping her hands together as she set her eyes on the theater across the street. It wasn't the first time they were in the city, but it was the first time they would actually go in the movie theater. They would usually just shop and get something to eat. After a few seconds of gawking she rushed across the marked pass to catch up with her unimpressed companions.

"I wonder what's good." Ka-Chan looked at all the large posters the best she could, but the act was a difficult chore due to the people that kept getting in front of the short teen.

"Do you need a boost?" Matsu asked sweetly.

"No, I got it. Thanks anyway, Matsu-Kun." She said, pushing her way through the crowd so she could see them all individually.

"There's a lot of action movies…" Ka-Chan noted to herself.

"What kind of movies do you like?"

"Romances."

"This one! We have to see this one!" Kuji pointed to a large poster of a man in a trench coat with a gun with a tropical backdrop lit up in an explosion. "It's the perfect combination of action and comedy and romance. This director is really good."

"The schedule says it starts playing in five minutes. What do you guys think?"

"Kuji-Chan should know."

"Let's hurry. I don't want to miss any previews." Kuji rushed in to take in the full effect of the building.

"Wait!" Kyoto sighed. "You'd think if she was such a movie expert she'd realized you have to pay for a ticket first…" He said as he went to the window with a snoozing employee.

The lobby was dimly lit with the scent of freshly buttered popcorn. The only bright ones were the spotlights trained onto the movie posters.

"Oh, neat! An arcade!" Ryouko ran up to the group of claw machines, gaming cabinets, and money machine sectioned off from the rest of the building.

"Ryouko-Chan I don't think we have enough time for that."

"I know I was just scouting t out for after the movie." She said as she joined Matsu in the line to the concession stand.

"Maybe I should be the one to hold the tub of Popcorn…" Mr. Ryuu said as he glanced at Matsu.

"Hm?" The poor pink haired boy tilted his head. "If you want to, but you should probably sit in the middle then."

After they purchased their goodies they gave the man guarding admittance to the hall of double doors. The room with the large screen held to the wall was half full by the time the projector had started turning. The first clip warned against cell phones and talking before glazing over the other theater rules and the consequences offenders would face. A plethora of previews showed just before the actual movie. The genre's ranged from a demonic romantic comedy to a documentary about mollusks.

"Sakura? Can I have one of those?" Ryouko whispered in the middle of a commercial about a slash flick.

"Shhh!" A man behind her glared at her.

"But the-."

"Shh!"

Ryouko slumped into her seat. The movie finally started two announcements later. It really was well done. It had a few clichés, but what film doesn't? Everyone seemed to enjoy it, until this one scene came up. The love interest in the movie was thrown off a sailboat by a large wave created by a building crashing into the sea. A large piece of wood had fallen on her and pinned her down.

Kuji looked away from the screen. The burning agony had resurfaced itself. She started to feel like she couldn't breathe as the bass filled music reached her ears. Her mind began to race, she couldn't focus as her eyes began to blur.

"Kuji? Are you alright?" She looked up to see Matsu and Ryouko looking at her with concerned looks. "Should we go?"

"N-no, I'm just a little thirsty." She reached for her drink. The pain had subsided as she kept telling herself it wasn't real. She looked back up at the screen. The hero's best friend had pulled the large debris off the unconscious body and started to swim to the surface. Everything was OK now, for Kuji anyway, the hero still needed to find the unfortunate octopus that had swallowed the key to the secret weapon room.

"That was unexpected." Kyoto sat in shock as the credits began to run after the hero's best friend who had woken up from a two day coma and shot the evil murder villain guy. They didn't even look at one another until they left the dark room. They chatted up about their favorite parts of the film. Kuji skipped about even more than Ryouko when she raved about the amazing cat plot twist. They threw the left over trash away and walked out into the still light fall sky.

"We've still got a lot of time." Kyoto looked at his silver watch.

"You said you were alright with going to the mall, right?" His green-eyed daughter asked for the second time.

"Yeah, but just in case you have your cellphone with you, right?" The girl nodded and giggled happily. He sighed and ran his hand through his short hair.

The next destination was the size of a small village. It was two stories and had more stores than their hometown had houses. Luckily, the mall wasn't half as crowded as the train station was, but there was still quite a crowd.

"Well, at least it won't be stressful if we get separated…" Kyoto thought to himself before he recognized the others had left him behind.

"What's going on over there?" Matsu noted the predominantly large gathering in front of the book store. There was a propped sign that stated the names of a couple of special guests.

"Professors Sam and Gale Yuki." Ka-Chan spoke the names as her mind worked to remember where she heard of them before. "I think they helped make that documentary we saw in the previews. Wasn't it based on their first book?"

"Yeah, they're behind a lot of major discoveries in their field of marine biology." Kuji looked through the crowd and noticed the couple at the head of it. "I've read that one."

"Don't you want to meet them?"

"Not really, I don't think I'll get the chance with everyone else here, but I do want their latest book." She started to wade through the sea of people. "Wait here, I won't take long." She pushed enough of the spectators over to get to the cash register with the said book pilled and propped next to it. The cashier was reading the jacket flap when the new customer arrived.

"Excuse me?" She tried to be polite, but the man at the cash register remained inattentive. "Ahem. I want to purchase this."

The man sighed through his nose and looked up at her. "What would-." He stopped mid-sentence once he saw her face. "Uh." He made a double take to and fro the sleeve flap.

"Is there a problem sir?" She tapped her foot as she lost patience.

"No, ma'am." He shook his head to clear it and took her book to scan it.

"Mm hm." She raised a brow as she tapped an annoyed foot. Then she left as soon she got her change back. "Lazy weirdo." She mumbled as she opened the book while walking away. She wanted to see the oh so important passage he wanted to read before attending to his customers. She suddenly felt bad once she read the passage. It was a dedication to their daughter who had died in a drowning incident and above it was her photo. She had black hair, a sophisticated smile, and a black and maroon hoodie.

* * *

"It's simple Kuji-Chan, you just have to double the recipe." Ka-Chan placed the paper on the kitchen counter.

"Do really have to? It's just us this afternoon." She changed the dials to preheat the oven at the proper temperature.

"Matsu-Kun's here and you know how much he likes sweets." Ka-Chan went to reach for the ingredients in the cabinets. "I always double them up ever since we had a brother."

"Hey, hey! I said no helping! I'll find the ingredients myself!" She shooed her shorter sister off the step ladder. "Go play Monopoly with the other two."

"Are you certain? It's not that-."

"Go! I can handle the kitchen layout. Go play with the others!" She watched Ka-Chan leave with lips forming a scowl before she turned back to the chocolate chip cookie recipe. She scanned over the instructions several times over before collecting all the ingredients. "This looks easy! Why haven't I tried this before?" She hummed to herself as she poured the wet substances into the dry ones. She started to stir vigorously, whipping her hands on her whale-printed apron after she rolled up the dough balls and put them on the parchment covered cooking pan.

"Ugh, this is the worst part!" She moaned hers eyes peeking in the oven glowing with a pulsating heat onto the edible circles. "It's taking too long…" She stood up from her lean, looking around to occupy herself. She started to hum in an aggravated tune, eventually coming up with a cheery cookie ditty as her mood lightened with the wondrous baking scent.

"I just can't stop." She said as she pulled the pan with her blue and tan oven mitts. "Can't stop, stop baking coookies~." She stood in triumph as she let them dry. She hummed more to quell her impatience, but whipped out her cell to play Tetris for a minute as she did so.

"Taste test time!" She said as she plated them. "Come in here!" The three pilled in one at a time. Matsu seemed slightly more excited than the other two.

"Did you let them cool?"

"Yes."

"You used the baking eggs right?"

"…Yes."

"And the non-salted butter?"

"I'm pretty sure I did."

"Did you find the baking chocolate?"

"Yes!"

"And you put parchment on the pan to-."

"Yes Ka-Chan! Yes! I did all the stuff you wrote down. Can you please tell me how it tastes now, please?" Kuji had her sassy 'hands on hips' pose to alert them her patience had worn thin.

"They look delicious Kuji-Chan!" Ryouko took up the cookie with the most chips.

"They smell good too!" Matsu picked up two.

"They do look and smell great." Ka-Chan picked up one of the smaller ones. "You stirred them thoroughly too."

"It's a good stress reliever…" She mumbled.

"…Egh, Uh." Ryouko, Ka-Chan, and Matsu all had strange looks on their faces.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked nervously her hands twiddling with her apron.

"Did, did you forget the sugar?" Ka-Chan forced herself to swallow the bite she took but couldn't bring herself to eat another bite.

"It'll taste good with lots of sugar." Matsu took another bite after getting some sugary drink to down the rest of what he took with, but did not attempt to get another.

"B-but…A put a whole lot of it in there. I even put a tiny bit extra!" She held the bag up from the surface behind her. "See?"

"Uh, Kuji-Chan?"

"What Ryouko?"

"That's salt…" The sleepy-eyed girl had placed the rest of her cookie back onto the plate.

"Wha-." She looked at the substance and hung her head after reading the bold letters. "I, really hate baking cookies…"

"Oh, Kuji-Chan everyone makes mistakes." Ka-Chan walked up to her sister with Ryouko and patted her on the back supportively. "It's OK."

"Yeah, you'll get it next time!" Ryouko smiled reassuringly at her black and blue haired friend.

"You really think so?"

"Of course, if there's one thing you're not it's a quitter." Matsu said as he took another sip of his drink. "Pretty soon you won't be able to stop yourself from all the baking, just like swimming."

"I doubt it, Matsu-Kun." His taller sister said dryly. Her tone was more unpleasant than the mistake that sat on the table between them.

* * *

**These lines are really annoying to apply...**


	8. Feeling Uneasy

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 8

"Five days away. It looks like it might get done in time…" Ka-Chan looked at the building as they passed by it to the train station.

"You're coming this year, right Sakura?"

"To the library? Probably, I wanted to see if they had any books on Cheery Blossoms or Himalayas."

Ryouko giggled at his response, causing him to raise a brow. "I meant the fall festival."

"Oh, of course, I love it almost as much as the spring one." Their shoes made a metallic thump as they made contact with the station stairs.

"I wonder if I can get you into a Yukata this year." The girl teased him. "I was thinking about wearing a Kimono." She said as she looked at him with those really adorable eyes. "What do think? Should we all go dressed up?"

"Kimono?" He felt a blush come over his cheeks as the thought came to him. "I guess I could try on a Yukata, t-to see how it fits…" He looked away to prevent her from seeing. "L-look the train's here…"

"Dress up? Hm, I don't know. I guess it sounds fun."

"You guess? It sounds great! I always wanted to wear one!" Kuji twirled around as she imagined it, causing the wavy layered skirt of her blue with white trim dress to float up slightly. "I think it'll look beautiful! I'll get sewing immediately!" She twirled one last time as she entered the train car.

"Wait, when did you learn to sew?" Ka-Chan asked skepticly.

"Well, I haven't learned yet, but maybe…" She looked at Ryouko as she sat down. "Someone wouldn't mind helping me, since you did make Matsu-Kun's hat, after all."

"I'd be happy to help, Kuji-Chan." She said sweetly. She took out a sketch book. "In fact I'm actually almost done with another project." She flipped through her many doodles.

"Really? What is it?" Matsu eagerly peaked over her shoulder. He always loved looking at her illustrations of different people. They were adorably drawn.

"This one, I just need to attach the sleeves and it's done." It was a collection of illustrations of a long sleeved suit jacket at different angles. It was scribbled red except for the white hollow circles two at each shoulder/upper bicep with a smaller white filled-in circle in them and the orange buttons with yellow X's on them.

"I think it matches your hat well, Sakura." Ryouko said as she looked up at his shocked yet grateful eyes. "I guess this kinda ruins the surprise, so I might give it to ya early."

"Ryouko-Chan…"

"So what do you want it to look like?" She flipped to a new page, her pencil at its readied position.

"Hm…" Kuji though for a moment. "Well, I know I want to be blue…light blue…And dark blue with some white and a lighter blue."

"Right." She scribbled something down. "Do you want it to be straight at the bottom like a traditional one or a little wider?"

"Yeah, yeah! I want it to reach my feet and make the bottom to look like waves crashing on the shore!"

"Kuji-Chan I don't think she can do that." Ka-Chan looked at her worryingly as the girl scribbled it into the emerging picture.

"I can think of something." She said reassuringly.

"Of course, you are the fabric master after all." Kuji said smugly. "It's why I asked her. I choose only the best."

"If it reaches the bottom and widens out like that then it's a dress not a kimono…"

"It'll be kimono inspired then." She crossed her arms in defiance. Her long sleeves went flying as usual. "I do want some wrappings around the waist, like a bow they always have."

"You want really long sleeves too, right?"

"How'd you know, Ryouko-Chan?"

* * *

"How's the work going on number one?" Two professionally dressed men stood in an office overlooking a large city from atop a skyscraper. The one without glasses was speaking.

"It's going well. She might be operational by next fall, but, uh. She isn't actually the first so…Why are we calling her that anyway?"

"Because she's first from our company, of course, not to mention our country." The man waved off his question. "Whatever, that's not why I called you here anyway. I wanted to ask about the other, less discussed project."

"You mean the one Miss Clementine is heading? What about it? I thought we were leaving everything to her since she was backing it with most of her own money."

"Yes, kinda, but don't you think she's taken a while to introduce the new models?"

"Yeah, but she claimed it was due to some issues in programming. It happens all the time, just look at how long it took Sweden's."

"That was before they managed to get them operational." The man turned around and looked at the other. "She claims they're somewhat operational…It's just…I can't help but feel like she's stalling. I mean it's been what, two years? Besides, she's really creepy anyway." He said as he shuddered.

The other man shuddered too. "Yeah, sometimes I feel like she's staring into my soul…" He shook the creepy feeling away. "But, what did you want me to do about it?"

"I want you…" He walked up to the desk the subordinate was standing in front of. "To find the models and…" He slammed his hands on the desk and looked at the sweating man in the eyes. "You see for yourself how they're doing and if they are operational install them at base level. Then take them without her noticing." He spoke with all the seriousness in the world.

"…In that exact order? Wouldn't that be easier if I took them before installing since it takes those headphones 'n stuff?" His voice cracked a great deal as he tried to avoid the man's suddenly scary face.

"Yeah, sure, but give her a month to come around before ya go snooping, K?"

* * *

The train stopped at a station the children had come upon only once before. It was a stop past the large city at another small town. This town was at the base of the mountain. It was half the size of their own and as old as Ryouko's house. She was the only one that had been there more than once. It was the town her friend used to live in before she moved a year after Ryouko met Ka-Chan, Kuji, and Matsu. They were meeting someone there.

"I can't wait to get started on it!" Kuji giggled like Ryouko usually did. "I can't wait to put it on."

"I thought Ryouko-Chan was making it…"

"I'm going to help…A little."

"It's OK, I can do it myself. I just need the materials." She put her sketch book away as they got up to leave. "I managed to make the jacket by myself. Now I just have to finish assembling it."

"We'll stop by the fabrics store on the way home. I'll pay for it. It's the least I can do."

"Where's dad at anyway? He said he'd see us at the station." Kuji was taken aback when Matsu's cell had given her answer.

"Hello?" He nodded at the inaudible words the caller was speaking. "Oh, alright…Yeah, she did…Mm...I- Where? OK, Bye dad." He hung up his phone to meet everyone's curiosity.

"Well?" Kuji raised a brow.

"He's waiting at the picnic ground."

"Oh, is he?" She growled. "So we have to walk up the mountain?" Matsu nodded.

"It's not too far from here." She pointed at a path leading out of town. "This is the shortest, but it's pretty steep on foot. She started to trot to an area of woods were the trees were cut with an X faded by regrowth to mark an otherwise invisible path. "This is the easiest route."

"Easiest, huh?" Kuji asked as she swatted at a bug on her neck. Her flats were starting to give her issues and the sun was telling them it was almost noon even through the darkening clouds.

"Yeah, we're already three quarters there." She looked at the cooling sky. "It's a good thing they built a roof over the picnic tables."

"I think I felt a raindrop…" Ka-Chan squeaked when the sky opened the floodgates. The four ran as fast as they could. A clearing revealed a two story house nestled in the curve of the road. They ran in without a second thought, lightning and thunder convinced them.

"Ugh!" Kuji cried as she slumped against the wall to catch her breath. Matsu was the last in and quickly closed the door to prevent any more water from flooding the floor.

"Hey, Ryouko? What is this place?" Ka-Chan had rung water out her tan shirt as she looked around.

"I've only taken this path once. I did see it, but I've never been in it." She was the only one not wearing a coat.

"Here Ryouko-Chan, you're soaking." Matsu took his suit coat and put it over her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm fine really Sakura."

"Hello? Someone there?" A male voice called out from the upstairs.

"Oh, we're so sorry Sir we just came in from the rain! We'll just-."

"No, no child. Stay. You don't want to catch death out there, do you?" The old man walked in from the double doors at the top of the stairs. He gazed at each one at a time smiling when he noticed the girl with the oversized coat on. "You kids look terrible. I have a little fire in the sitting room. It's through the door below me. Go on."

"That's really not necessary."

"Please, a worn out thing like me would love the company." A smile spread the man's grey moustache.

"Well, OK…" Ka-Chan seemed a bit worried, but pushed the thought away like the others.

"Thank you sir." Ryouko retrieved her phone from her bag in case the old man tried something. She watched the old man walk down the stairs with his mahogany and silver cane. His whole body quivered as he moved.

"Make yourselves comfortable hm?" They did as they were told. Ka-Chan was the last to go in. She kept an eye on the elderly man as she did so. He stood there with one hand on his cane and the other at his side. "And you can call me Mitch."

"I'll be right back, so just sit and let yourselves dry. I don't think the storm will be here too long. Never usually is." He retreated into another room as they settled in front of the fireplace.

"You think we should be watching him?" Ka-Chan asked with her eyes on the doorways. A few minutes had passed before she decided to bring it up.

"Why?" Kuji and the other two were searching through their bags to see if anything had gotten messed up by the sudden showers.

"It just seems kind of ominous…"

"He's not going to shove us into an oven Ka-Chan. He's just a weak old man."

"But that doesn't mean he can't-."

"It's fine Ka-Chan. We can call for help if anything happens."

"Maybe but-."

"I hope you don't mind the wait." The sound of clattering china alerted them to the elderly man's reappearance. "I got some warm tea to heat up the inside as well as the outside."

"Here, let me get that for you." Matsu rushed to help him before the whole thing fell.

"Such a kind one this boy." He watched the pink haired boy place the tray on the table. "It's nice to see not all kids are like the ones that came in here three years ago." He spoke as Ka-Chan poured him a cup. "They were beyond rude. They even tried to steal my cane. Luckily, I managed to give them enough licks to straighten them out." He took the cup of tea drank the whole cup in a long gulp.

The liquid was deemed safe and the others had their own cup. They talked about a few things to pass a little time. It was mostly the old man telling them stories of his days as a young immigrant itching for adventure.

"Hm, an hour and a half?" Mitch noted as he looked at the clock on the wall with a twitch of the moustache. "Let's see if the storm has passed. Shall we?"

The sky was grey, but the sun was starting to brighten things up. They waved Mitch goodbye before they continued their trot to the picnic site. Yoshi was looking about worryingly, his cellphone in his hand when they arrived shortly after.

"Where were you guys?" He looked like he was about to cry from relief. "I tried calling you."

"That's funny. We didn't receive any calls…"

"We were at that house down the road. We had to get out of the rain."

"You should know it's dangerous to take refuge in abandoned buildings. You don't know what lives there."

"Why are you so paternal all of a sudden?" Kuji tapped her foot impatiently. "Why do you think it's abandoned anyway?"

"I just worry about you guys. The last owner of that house died four years ago and no one's wanted it since a couple were found beaten to death three years ago."

* * *

"He, hee!" Laughter filled the halls as the doctor held his scalpel. There was a sudden creak as the door creaked open. "Mr. Kenmochi's here!" He stated in a sing song voice.

"Yeah, it's me." He spoke in an even quieter tone than usual. "I came to check up on you Tei."

"It's been so long since I've had your visit. It's usually that Doctor Fixer." He said the man's nickname with some disdain. "Miss Danielle even dropped by." A wide grin spread across his face in anticipation. He tried pulling his emotions inward, but it was so difficult whenever he thought about the 'good times' with Mr. Kenmochi.

"Danielle? What did she want?" He started to worry a little. 'What's she up to?' He thought.

"MISS Danielle wanted me to look at a file. It was…Energizing to say the least."

"Hm, a file?" He walked toward his colleague, studying the man the best he could. There was something off about him. "Is it a new project or something?"

"Yes." He held back a snicker. "It's a new candidate. We're working on getting a sample, but so far I've had no luck." He shook his head. "Fortunately, she's very patient with me." He let anther wide grin slip by. "She's says we'll try using this on a younger subject, so that we can study how well it works with the more tender years of growth. Not to mention how much simpler it would be to eliminate those pesky memories. Heh."

"Doctor Kimchi…" Yoshi walked up next to him as the man who looked up to him had his back turned. "Do you mean…A toddler?"

"Or an infant. Miss Danielle won't be sure until she finds a suitable subject. Hm hm." He couldn't force his excitement down for much longer. "Yes, this one will be particularly fun to…help." He said in a low whisper.

"Hey, did you sniff some supplies or something? You seem a bit off." He put his hands on the man shoulder. Dr. Kimchi jumped back and held a scalpel to his throat before realizing what he was doing.

"You…Sorry, just a little jumpy today." He pulled the object away from his startled idol. "I guess I better take care of that before we work on the next 'lost soul', eh?"

"Yeah, but…" He couldn't keep his eyes off the incision tool. "Yes, imagine how amazing it would be to give new life to a life lost too soon." A smile came to his face. "It's the reason I came up with this procedure in the first place." No parent should have to live without a child, and maybe one day we'll find a way to not have to erase their memories so they can come back the same."

"But they're not the same, not physically."

"But mentally and emotionally they will be, and that's all that matters to a parent."

"Hm, right, but memories are still dangerous as far as our results show, so we'll just have to keep doing it like this, herm?

"Yeah…At least the kids will have a little brother or sister now. Ka-Chan will love that!" He laughed to himself. "Guess I'll have to keep it a secret until then since we don't even have a sample yet."

"…Oh, you mean Ex.5, hm?"

"Yes, Ka-Chan's her name."

"Oh, of course, I haven't seen it after we did the procedure. It's really a shame. I won't get a chance soon."

"Right, well, I have to get going now. Suzy's waiting for me. I just wanted to see how you were doing." He started to back up.

"Suzy? You mean Dr. Boris, right?" A look of rage was starting to show itself just under the surface.

"Yes, we're visiting the kids today…See you later." He left out the door as quickly as he came. Doctor Kimchi watched him leave and waited a few minutes.

"SUZY!?" He slammed his fists on the lab table. "What does he see in that vixen? How could he rather spend time with her than me, his loyal friend?" He swiped the lab equipment off the table, causing a large crash. He rested his head on the cold surface for a few minutes. "Well, that's fine. We'll get to have our fun later, as soon as I get that sample."


	9. Dressing up

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 9

Lightning spread across the sky like a hideously deformed snake seconds before thunder thudded like a possessed drum. The very air outside was heavy with rain and darkness between every flash.

"This is the rainiest year of them all…" Ka-Chan's voice was weak with sleep deprivation and uneasiness as she lay in her bed. Her undone hair unraveled to her middle back as she sat up. Her immaculate room illuminated with every terrible crash, casting shadows behind her chair, bookshelf, and dresser.

A particularly large boom made her throw the covers over her head. She wasn't afraid of heights anymore, but that didn't mean she was entirely fearless just yet. Not to mention this was the worst storm to hit since she woke up. The audio anomalies were so loud they hurt her ears and rattled her very spine. Every time her mind tried to think up a more pleasant thought her ears were rattled with another.

After another predominantly wicked clap happened just in front of her window she threw her covers off and left her room. She tiptoed through the hall, flinching with every unsettling flicker. She decided the best thing to do was watch some TV, maybe that could calm her into sleep.

She was just at the stairs when the ominous light brought it into view. The thunder that followed provided a much unneeded crack, like the sound of a snapping neck. Ka-Chan's body shuddered with a numb pain. She was stuck in place, her eyes fixed on the end of the steps. Another boom made her jolt out of her paralyzed state. She backed away too fast for her to stop herself so she ended up falling through Kuji's slightly ajar doorway and on the recently cleaned floor.

"Huh, Who?" The sea lady faced the ceiling as her eyes came open halfway.

"K-Kuji-Chan?" A sad voice came from her dark blue carpet.

"Hm? Ka-Chan," She wiped her eyes. "It's too early for school, even for you. We have off tomorrow anyway."

"Kuji-Chan." She sat up, finally realizing the saddened tone in her voice.

"What is it?"

"C-Can I sleep with you tonight?" She got up, and looked at her sister pathetically. "Please."

"Hm, yeah, sure, but don't tell anyone." She growled, hiding the utter shock and sadness that hit her when she saw her sister in such a state perfectly.

"Thank you." She snuggled into the covers with a big smile. It didn't take long for her to doze into blissful sleep.

"Good morning, Matsu-Chan!" Ka-Chan hummed happily as she padded some rice balls together next to Kuji who hadn't been up this early since…ever.

"Good morning Ka-Chan." Matsu pulled on the other arm of his new red jacket. "Did you enjoy your sleepover?"

"Sleepover? What sleepover?" Ka-Chan looked over her shoulder.

"The one that happened last night. I saw you in Kuji-Chan's room on my way back from the kitchen." He walked over to the bowl of rice to help.

"What are talking about, Matsu-Kun? You didn't see anything." Kuji looked at him with an agitated look.

"But-."

"Nothing!"

* * *

"What do you think?" Ryouko asked from the other side of the bathroom door, anxious to hear Kuji's critique. She wore a green kimono with a yellow and purple flower print, a purple obi, a yellow obiage, and a yellow obijime and obidome. Her hair was done up with violets pinned in.

"Looks good to me." Ka-Chan stood back after helping with the wrapping. She had on a yellow Kimono with red and orange leaf print gathered mostly in the bottom left corner and spreading out the further it went. Her obi was orange, the obiage was red, and the obijime was also red tied into an obidome.

"It looks…" Her muffled voice came through the walls as she examined the mirror from every angle. The new gown swished lightly as she turned. The dress reached the floor just as she requested. It was blue with dark blue bordering the neck descending in a steep angle to the right and light blue, lighter blue, and white stripped waves printed on the bottom half of the long sleeves that reached her knees. There was a cloth at the bottom of the skirt that resembled waves crashing around her and a kimono styled bow made of a yellow obi, a purple obiage under that and purple obijime tied in a obidome. The thing she loved about it the most was the picture of a happy greenish whale that took up most of the skirt with a small spout of water erupting from his blowhole.

"What? Looks what?" She was starting to get a little worried with her face pressed hard against the thing separating her and her creation. She fell into the bathroom when her slightly shorter female friend opened the door.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Looking for a Makura-Gaeshi." She dusted herself off and got a good look of her work. "So how's it fit?"

"You did great." She lifted the skirt slightly to show its creator how it swishes. "I knew you'd get the job done." She hugged Ryouko before she could respond. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it Kuji-Chan. I had fun making it."

"It looks amazing." She said as she let go of the juvenile seamstress. She took one last look at the mirror. "I'll wear it everywhere…Well, except the beach."

"I'm glad you like it Kuji-Chan." Ryouko giggled as Kuji kept swishing the garb's lightly like a child. "Are we still going to the festival or-."

"Oh, we're going." Kuji said bluntly. "I just have to show this off."

"Then we should probably see if Matsu-Kun is ready yet." Ka-Chan walked awkwardly in her garb, trying to get used to the traditional wear and unjustly worried the red flowers will fall out of her hair. She paused with every step as her hair bounced.

"This little whale's so cute." She hummed as she stopped at the top of the stairs. "He looks so happy."

"I have to admit that was probably the hardest part. I wasn't sure if he was happy or sad until I was done." She padded onto the carpeted stairs. "It's the most complex detail I've ever done." She had to stop a few times since she kept almost bumping into Ka-Chan.

"Ryouko-Chan, Ka-Chan, I don't think Matsu-Kun's ready yet." They looked up to see Kuji wasn't at the top of the stairs anymore but was standing with her ear pressed against the door at the other end of the hall.

"Why do you-?" Ka-Chan sighed. She was really starting to hate stairs more than fear them now. Ryouko rushed up the steps, her feet barely touching the carpet before catapulting her to the next one. A split second had passed before she was next to Kuji with her ear pressed against the wood.

"I really don't think I need your help…" Matsu's muffled voice sounded very courteous and uneasy, pretty much how he sounded every time Mr. Kenmochi would try to help him with something or inform him about girls. "I can do it myself."

"Nonsense, son. It'll be fine. I've got this covered."

"Dad, I don't think that's- Ah!"

"Whoops, sorry big guy, must've pulled this little belt thing too tight, but you're such a skinny dude it's kinda easy to assume…"

"Um, maybe you should check to see if the girls are doing OK…I can take it from here…"

"That jerk. He's throwing us under the bus." Kuji fumed quietly.

"Do you blame him? Poor Sakura…"

"Huh? Well, alright if you insist pal." They started to hear footsteps and struggled to dart out the way. They dashed off so quickly they almost knocked poor Ka-Chan off the top of the stairs. Kuji came back up and carried the dazed girl to the living room before Yoshi even opened the red and orange door.

"Girls? Hm must've been the TV in Kuji-Chan's room or something…" Yoshi walked over to the Kuji's blue and white door and pressed his ear against it. "Hm, guess they're not in there…" He shrugged and walked to Ka-Chan's room. He knocked on the door and pressed his ear against the tan and pale green colored wood. "Girls? You in there?" There was nothing again. "Hm." He shrugged again and started down the stairs.

"Why didn't he knock on my door?" She whispered to herself, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, Sometimes."

"Oh, there you are girls." He walked in and saw them sitting politely watching the 'Lucky Channel'. "You all look so nice. You know Suzy would want to take pictures." He came in and sat on the chair with the remote next to him. "I wonder if the news is on yet." He started to flip through the channels.

"Hey, you can't just flip through the channels without asking someone who's watching what's already on!"

"Huh? Sorry Kuji-Chan, I'll change it back after the forecast." He shrugged for the fifth time that day. "We don't want to be caught in the rain, do we?"

"Well, no…" She calmed a little after noticing Ka-Chan's disappointed head shake. "It's just rude not to ask."

'She sounds way too much like her mother.' He thought. 'Wait, did she actually back down from yelling at me more?' He smiled at the realization, resting his hands behind his head and putting his feet up. 'She's finally starting to respect me.'

"What's so funny Mr. Kenmochi-San?" His attention was turned to the girl with green hair. He realized he had started to giggle.

"Uh, this news story?" He said pointing at the screen with the remote.

"You think recalls of coat hangers that have caused three deaths are funny?" Kuji looked at him with wide eyes. "What is wrong with you?"

"Kuji-Chan…" Ka-Chan frowned, her attention taken off her hair ornamentation.

"Well, it's not the actual story per say, just the-uh…It reminded me of a joke I heard the other day about coat hangers…Yup." He shifted his eyes nervously.

"Really? Tell us! Please?" Ryouko asked sweetly. "I love jokes."

"Oh…Kay…" He started to sweat a little in the house Matsu loved to keep cold. "One day there was this…coat hanger and-." The sound of a door closing interrupted him. "OH THANK THE GODS!" He breathed as Matsu walked down the stairs with a new confused look everyone but Kuji had on.

His Yukata was red with white cranes as the pattern and an orange obi. He looked at his father then at the girls with so many questions bubbling up. "Um, are you OK dad?" It was all he could manage to say to the man slumped in the couch.

"That looks so good on you." Ryouko stood up with the others to get a better look at him. She could barely hide her blushing cheeks.

"Thanks Ryouko-Chan." He ran his hand through his pink hair before putting on his hat, burying the blush that threatened to show the moment he saw her. "You, look very pretty in yours."

"Alright, all that's missing is Suzy. She said she had something to take care of before coming over. Hope it doesn't take too long…" Yoshi had recovered from his relapse once the attention was shifted off of him for a moment.

"This is it, boy, am I lucky. Last one." Suzy picked up the packaged batteries and looked over the products to see if she needed anything else. "Snacks? Nah there'll be plenty of those at the carnival, but maybe I should get some water in case they just have sugary drinks. Kuji-Chan didn't like that very much last year as I remember." She grabbed a few bottles and added it to her basket.

"Will this be all?" The cashier asked in a childlike voice as she scanned the items.

"I think I'll take a grape flavored Chew too." She added the item.

"Suzy? Suzy Futane? Is that you?" She turned around to see a pudgy girl she knew from college.

"Demi?" She laughed as she embraced her friend in a hug. "How are you girl? It's been so long!"

"I've been doing OK." Her long lost friend gave her a good up and down glance. "You look great. You got any tips for me?" They both laughed.

"You haven't change one bit Demi. What are you doing overseas? I thought you missed the ol' corn fields!" Her friend giggled at the old childish home sickness.

"I met a man in those corn fields hun. He took me here while he's on business. Never thought I'd run into you while I was taking in the sights."

"Well, it's about time you found one! How long have you been looking, ten, fifty years?" She laughed wickedly after he friend gave her the 'ha, ha funny joke' look. "I'm glad you're happy Demi. You deserve every bit of it."

"What about you hun. I remember back in the day you were serious with medical student, what was his name…?" She thought for a second. "Oh, that's right! Yisho Kimchi, was it?"

"Yoshi Kenmochi."

"Yeah that's it. Do you know how he's doing? He was real fun back in the day. I wonder if he's gotten himself into trouble since then."

"You have no idea…" Suzy smiled to herself. Imagine her surprise when she signs onto a project only to find your own college boyfriend was heading it and the way everything turned out you'd think…

"You two were practically made for each other." Her friend gave her a nudge. "You, the serious studious type and he's the fun let loose kinda guy. It's like your life is a romance novel."

"Ugh, you know how much I hate those."

"Yeah, I guess I'd get tired of 'em too if I lived it every day!"

"Um, excuse me. There are customers behind you ma'am."

"Man, this show is so confusing! Why don't they just stab that guy? He's standing right there!" Yoshi complained as he threw his arms up.

"They can't! That guy has his sister! They won't be able to find her in time if they kill him."

"Better than hearing him yammer on about the establishment of inner evil or whatever. I swear these kinds of villains are super dumb and annoying."

"Actually it's somewhat ingenious. He's verbally torturing them with his dreary monolog as well as risking his life in order to cause greater pain to his enemy, threatening his moral system by debating whether he chooses the lives of millions of strangers or his loving, caring sister he loves."

"Yeah, well, I still think they should stab him and get over it. He has that cute girl to console him over his lost sister so it's a win for everybody." Yoshi sipped his drink as he finished.

"Everyone except his sister." Matsu frowned.

"Yeah, well, she's kinda annoying so…"

"I'm here! Sorry I'm late I had to get batteries and-." Suzy ran into the living room and lost her train of thought. "You guys look incredible!"

"I helped with Matsu-Kun's."

"Yeah, sure ya did." Suzy rolled her eyes as she got her camera out. "OK, smile! I wanna snap a few pictures before Matsu-Kun gets something on his."

"Me?" He spoke in his usual innocent tone.

"That was actually dad's fault mom. He just didn't own up to it." Kuji defended her brother's honor as she thought back on that day with his now forever ruined red and orange striped shirt. The flash didn't faze her in the least, unlike Ka-Chan.

"Tattle tale…" Yoshi mumbled.

"Also he didn't help with the Yukata." She stuck her tongue at her father. "That's for not knocking before."

"I figured as much…Now let's get a standing shot of you." They stood up and gathered into a mass to fit into the frame.

"Stand in a line. I want to be able to see all the designs…Kuji-Chan. What where did you get yours? It looks like a more modern style."

"Ryouko made it for me. What do you think mom?" She spun around to show her the back too, hitting the others with her sleeves in the process.

"Really? All by yourself?"

"Mm, hm. I had a lot of practice." She felt a blush that was smaller than the last but still warm nonetheless.

"Still, that's pretty impressive. You should look into that."

"Are you done with that yet? I want to get something to eat." The oldest in the room whined like a ten year old that wanted candy after having a cavity taken out.

"I swear Yoshi-San. You're worse than Matsu-Kun. At least he's polite about being hungry." Matsu frowned when his stomach growled for the seventh time that day. He was sure to quickly paint the smile back on as she took her sixth picture.

"Alright, that's enough pre-festival pics. Now let's get some mid-festival pics."

"What is this, a photo shoot?"

"Quiet you." Suzy glared at him as the kids ran out the door. "You should be glad I'm not going to make them stand in the front yard for more." Her whole face brightened up as the light bulb came on. "But I will make them stand in front of the trees with the changing colors! It'll match Ka-Chan's perfectly!" She ran out yelling her plans to the kids."

"Jeeze." Yoshi took the keys and locked up the house. "I'm glad these kids are too old for Halloween." He started to run to catch up to them, which wasn't necessary since she was going to make them stop in front of everything that looked like a decent backdrop, but his determination earned him a spot in a few of the photo ops.

"Wow, this is gonna be a good one. This is the last of the Pre-pics!"

"Mom, set it on a timer so you can be in it too."

"Hold on!" She found a suitable spot to put it on to get the right angle and ran toward the group. She ended up next to Yoshi. He smiled extra big in that one.

"This reminds me of that time we had that trip to the states. The first time I ever saw a pumpkin patch." He sighed as the memories came to him.

"Yeah, you punched a hole in your Jack-O-Lantern while you were trying to get the seeds out."

"And then you tried to cook the seeds but they came out sweet, salty, and burnt to the pan." They both laughed. The terrible yet sweet scent was as fresh as if was happening at that moment.

"That was great. We should take the kids one day. They'd love that."

"Yeah, listen to us. Did you ever think we would talk like this?" He looked to make sure the children were busy walking to the festivities before speaking.

"Like what?"

"Like parents. Every sentence we speak nine times out of ten has the words kids, Kuji, Ka-Chan, and Matsu. I can't believe I'm responding to the word dad again."

"…Does it hurt when you hear that? When it forces you to think of him do you ever wish…?" Her tone had changed after remembering the reason they broke up in college. The woman he cheated with had a child, and she killed him after he asked for a divorce. The smile of a happy, innocent child taken in an instant by a vindictive woman and he had no control over it. That didn't stop him from blaming himself.

"Yeah, it did at first, but after a while it just felt right." He rested his hand on his pocket with his wallet and in that was a small origami crane. "Something made me realize what was important, what was my purpose after I forgot. I'm not going to forget again. Sai would want it this way." He then continued to walk to the gathering lit by paper lanterns. Suzy followed not long after.


	10. Haunting Ruins

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 10

"This looks fun. Wanna try it Sakura?" Ryouko pointed to a booth with a bunch of prizes lined up with rubber shooting guns laid in front. "I don't think we've played this one before." Matsu nodded, his greatest concern quelled by a chocolate covered banana.

"Looks too easy to me…" Kuji walked up to the booth and eyed every detail, including the now confused and saddened booth attendant.

"C-Can I help you miss?"

"It's glued on, isn't it?" She narrowed her eyes at him menacingly.

"W-What? No! I swear on my mother's casserole grave." He said with his hand held up like a swearing boy scout. "I just got the booth, guns, and prizes. They were not tampered in any fashion."

"Sounds good enough to me." Ryouko walked up to the arrangement and paid the man.

"Mother's casserole grave? Yeah, real trust worthy." Kuji rolled her eyes.

"Hey, my mother's casseroles are heaven on earth young lady."

"I wonder what I should try to get…" She scanned the shelves for anything that caught her eye. "That looks doable." She took aim and tried to shoot her chosen item. There was loud pop as the item, a five inch tall Chinese dragon statue snapped in half and fell to the ground.

"Uh, congratulations?" The man picked the pieces up and handed them to the girl.

"…You keep it." They walked away to another game.

"Let's try to find a booth where the prizes aren't easy to break." Ka-Chan looked around until she noticed another game. "That one's less violent."

It was game with a tub of water with a bunch of little turtles swimming in it. It was warmed with a few lamps the keep the creatures active the same as they did with the fish the other times. The attendant was handing out small paper nets with each purchase.

"Turtles!" Ryouko ran to the game with an extra pep in her step. "Maybe this year I'll get one. They usually have little fishies."

"I still have my fish from last year." Kuji boasted, pride in her ability to care for water life seeping from every word. "You have to get him out of the bag as soon as possible or he'll run out of air." She pulled out a water bottle three quarters full. "I'll go get a better container to put him in." She took a sip before darting off on her little scavenger hunt.

"Thank you Kuji-Chan." Ryouko waved her off.

"Don't use any of my good tupperware like last time!" Ka-Chan shouted after her.

Ryouko examined the tank carefully before taking out the purchase. She spotted a baby turtle look up at her as it paddled in the water. "Ooh. He's such a cutie!" She took a net from the kind old woman.

"Wouldn't be easier to try to get one of the larger baby turtles, Ryouko-Chan?"

"I guess it would, but he's so cute. Look at him swim with his widdle feet." She rolled up one of her sleeves and steadied her hand. "Stay still, please." She plunged her net in and scooped as lightly as possible. She felt a small tug as she pulled up. She closed her eyes for a millisecond before opening them with a wide smile. "I got him!" She held the small creature in hers hands and felt how cold the air was compared to the water. "Uh, oh. Maybe we should find a way to keep him warm…" She clasped the reptile in her palms and unintentionally ignored the woman with the bag.

"Can we wrap him up?" Matsu looked around for any warm cloths.

"Is it really a good idea to hold the turtle?" Ka-Chan's germ phobia was working up. "You should wash your hands before you eat again."

"Here, put him in this." Matsu started to pull off his hat when Ka-Chan scolded him.

"No, not that! It won't wash out!" She reached into her bag and got out a handkerchief and wrapped the small critter gently.

"Thanks guys." She held the bundle in her hands so she could see his little head poke out. "What should I call him?" She walked along the path with the others as he petted the infant animal gently.

"Let me think…Shelly, Tank… Leonardo?"

"Hm. That doesn't fit him… It needs to be unique…Like-."

"…Ryuto." They looked up at Matsu. He seemed pretty confident with his answer.

"Ryuto?" Ryouko tilted her head and thought about it. "Hm, I like that that. Ryuto it is." She smiled at the little critter. "It's a name for cuties."

"Just like the name Ryouko." Matsu smiled. "That's how I thought of it."

"Uh…" She shook her blush away.

"I'm back!" Kuji called. She had Suzy and Yoshi behind her as she waved around the container. "Here, I poked holes into the top for him."

"Kuji-Chan!"

"Relax, Ka-Chan. I used tinfoil to cover it." She peeled back the lid for the newly named Ryuto.

"Why is he wrapped up like that? Is he injured?" Suzy looked a little concerned.

"They probably want to keep him warm. He is a coldblooded reptile after all." Yoshi explained smugly. "They're smart kids. Comes from my side of the family."

"Luckily, their humility doesn't." The woman rolled her eyes next to her daughter.

"You guys grab something to eat yet?" Yoshi moaned when his stomach made its emptiness known. "Can we get some noodles or something?"

"I don't think they have noodles here…They didn't have any last year."

"Ugh, seriously? No Yakisoba? What kind of carnival is this?"

"Relax, dad. They have Takoyaki, which is where I'm going cuz I want some." She started to lead the pack. "All that Tupperware fetching made me hungry."

"Tako? Aw, c'mon, you don't like octopus food."

"They have Ikayaki too."

"That's not much better."

"I wonder if Ryuto-Kun will eat some."

"I'm not entirely sure he would. I think that species of turtle prefers fruit."

"Really Sakura? Then I'll get him some strawberries. I think the crape stand is next to the Octopus Ball booth."

"Ryouko-Chan, please wash your hands before you handle food. There's a portable restroom over there." Ka-Chan begged.

"Sure Ka-Chan."

"They have chicken too, right?"

"That's on the other side..."

"Oh, good."

"…All the way on the other side back there." Ryouko pointed before heading in the unoccupied restroom.

"…I'm going." He went to leave before Matsu tried to stop him.

"They have corn cobs over here."

"They have corn but they don't have noodles? Don't they have to import that stuff?" Matsu shrugged. His father only sighed. "Eh, I'll be right back."

"They have Bebi Kasutera on this side too." It was too late. He couldn't hear him from this distance. "Come to think of it, why would they separate the chicken from everything else?"

"They usually set up last for some reason." Ryouko walked up next to him as he stood in front of the Karumeyaki stand. "You wanna get some?"

"I was going to get some, but I think I'd rather have custard filled Taiyaki. I didn't get any last time."

"More for me then." She held the treat in one hand and Ryuto in the other. She held him perfectly so he would feel free to move about. "Hm…" She looked at the creature as she licked it.

"I don't think Ryuto-Kun should have any sugar, Ryouko-Chan."

"Why not Sakura?" She asked with the most innocent eyes. "He looks like he really wants some."

"It's not good for him. I don't think so anyway…" He stopped to think about it as he pulled out some money for his own treat.

"I don't think just a little would hurt." She glanced at the animal and could've sworn it was looking at the pure sugar.

"I guess not…" With his word she broke a tiny piece off and put it in the container. "If he doesn't like it, he won't eat it anyway." They watched him nibble at it in an odd fashion for a turtle.

"Now, where's the crape stand? I think he's ready for a dessert strawberry."

"Dessert? I thought the solid sugar was dessert…"

"Shouldn't Yoshi be back by now?" Suzy looked at her watch after sneaking a piece of Ka-Chan's cotton candy. "I'll go check on him. Matsu-Kun, I might need some help so keep your phone on, OK?"

"Wait, shouldn't I go with you then?"

"No, I'm sure he's just caught playing a game or talking up girls like at that ski trip." She disappeared into the ever growing crowd. The sky was starting to turn its final colors before giving the lanterns a real job to do.

"Uh, I feel terrible now…" The group turned to see Kuji with a frown and a half eaten battered octopus.

"Did that Takoyaki give you a tummy ache? Do you need to lie down?" Ka-Chan encouraged her to lean in so she could feel for a fever.

"No, nothing like that. It's just you won't believe what I walked passed when I looked for the tables setup in the woods."

"What?" They all asked at once.

"…A noodle stand." She took another bite as politely as possible, but she failing miserably. She was glad she got that anti-smudge lipstick not too long ago.

"Oh, well it was more my fault really." Ryouko frowned. "Maybe we should get him some and take it to him."

"Nah, it doesn't matter now. He wouldn't blame either of you anyway."

"He wouldn't want us to him drunk either. Remember how he wouldn't come out of the bathroom at the inn?"

"That may have been because he accidently broke Kuji-Chan's mirror too, but if he's in trouble mom will help him."

"…Right, Let's just get everything we want and eat at the tables. He can get his own if he still wants any." The tables were just behind the stands. They stood at either side of a much more faded path that led to an old temple deep in the heart of the forest.

"Here would be a good spot." Kuji dusted off some of the flame colored leaves.

"Ryouko-Chan, didn't you say the temple was haunted at the first festival?"

"Do you really want to talk about ghost after what happened last month, Matsu-Kun?" Kuji sat next to her sister with her Ikayaki.

"What brought that up anyway?" Ka-Chan took out a napkin and placed it on her lap.

"I was just thinking we've never been there after I noticed the road again."

"I've never seen it either. People stopped visiting and taking care of it. Papa used to tell me it happened a long time ago, back when Buddhism came over here. It was abandoned so long ago it's probably not recognizable anymore. I'm surprised the stone path is still here at all."

"Wait, it couldn't have been abandoned just because of the introduction of that old Buddhist temple down the street could it?"

"Mm…No, but it did have a little to do with it, I guess after the big reason it helped 'seal the deal' as Papa puts it." She did the air quotations mid taking Ryuto out of the container. "The people taking care of the temple died all in in one night. They think it was either an invasion from the town over or a failed robbery attempt."

"Why a 'failed' burglary?"

"Because none of the artifacts were taken, which is why a lot of people think it was a demon or malevolent spirit of some kind."

"Can we not talk about that now? Please?"

"Huh? What's up with you, Ka-Chan? You're not scared are you?"

"Actually for once I'm not. I just find it inappropriate to discuss death at the dinner table, weather we're outside or not." She pulled her chopsticks apart before continuing. "Besides, it's disrespectful to speak of temples like that, especially so close unless you want to be cursed by a vengeful spirit."

"So you are superstitious. I knew it! That's why you act so weird on Friday's when it's the thirteenth!" Kuji smiled smugly as she ate a piece of invertebrate.

"Or when you avoid black cats." Ryouko spoke as she tried to cut the strawberries with a chopstick.

"Or when you hide the nail clippers at night…" Matsu remembered how Kuji wanted to cut her nails at night even after Ka-Chan told her about that one.

"I'm not superstitious, just careful." She sipped a few noodles. "I still think that old man was just moved in when we got there."

"Really? Then wouldn't dad have heard that? Why would he tell us it was abandoned? I think we should have gone back there." She sipped her water after ending her argument.

"Me, too." Matsu and Ryouko concurred between bites.

"You guys are insane." She shook her head.

"Join us Ka-Chan, everything's more fun when you're insane." Ryouko and Kuji spoke in unision as they twiddled their finger in a silly fashion.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather be cautious and safe." She laughed, but it was cut short when something dropped on her head and caused her to drop her chopsticks. "Ack!" She looked around for what hit her as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah guys I'm fine, but now I have to get another pair of chopsticks."

"I'll get you some."

"No, that's alright, Matsu-Kun. It's my fault I dropped them." She trotted off to retrieve a second pair after properly disposing of the first and newly dirtied pair.

"What the-?" Kuji found something once her sister had moved. She picked it up to get a better look at it. "A rock?" She and the other two looked around to see if the culprit was still there, but no one seemed to act suspicious.

"Thank you sir." Ka-Chan bowed at the booth attendant that handed her a new pair of disposable utensils. She turned to leave when she bumped into someone.

"Egh, ow." The boy named Rye fell on his backside with a thud.

"S-sorry Rye-San. I didn't see you. It's so dark out." She held out a hand for him.

"It's OK, Ka-Chan. If there's one person I don't mind bumping into it's you." He took her hand and dusted himself off when he was up. "You're always so nice to me."

"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying I appreciate it. I like you more than the other girls. You're nicer and prettier too." He shrugged before running off into the night. Ka-Chan returned with the biggest blush. She didn't say much for a while. She stirred the already cooled noodles and giggled to herself. Her brother and sister watched her as the question settled in their minds for a few seconds until she noticed.

"Why are you staring at me?" The two looked at their own meals without a word. Ryouko was still feeding fruit she bought to Ryuto, a banana this time. She hadn't noticed anything.

"Sakura, I don't think Ryuto-Kun likes bananas." She wrapped up the barely nibbled fruit up with some plastic wrapping she got from home to save any food she didn't finish. She placed it in her bag and arranged it so it wouldn't mush against anything. "He didn't eat too much of it."

"That's probably because you fed him a strawberry and two grapes before that." He smiled at the animal crawling on the table under the warm light of the paper lantern. "He's full. That's all."

"Right, I forgot he has a small tummy."

"There you guys are! We looked all up and down the walkway." Suzy and Yoshi walked up to the table. Yoshi had his chicken nestled in a bowl of noodles and a satisfied look as he sat next to Matsu.

"What was he doing?" Kuji asked with a raised brow at his slightly rude but usual behavior when eating such a dish.

"Trying to shoot a game system off the shelf. He kept telling me he'd get it next time. You won't believe how much he wasted."

"Hey, I got pretty darn close." He said with food still in his mouth. He pulled an item out of his pocket and held it up in plain view. "At least I got a box of tissues out of it."

"That's more like a packet but whatever…" Suzy felt a sneeze coming on and took his prize on instinct, acting fast enough to have a tissue ready in time. "What kind of prize is that anyway?" She said after blowing and wiping her nose. "Thanks."

"A pre-used one now." Yoshi frowned as she gave the rest back to him. "You're welcome."

"Ryouko-Chan won a statue, but it broke when the rubber band hit it."

"Well, you can't expect cheap carnival games to have very durable rewards." She watched Ryouko wrap the bundle up and place it back into the container.

"It's OK because I got Ryuto-Kun after that. He's sleeping now."

"Or he's dead-Kah! Ow!" Yoshi whined as he rubbed the shoulder Matsu elbowed. "I mean a nap does sound nice." He sipped his beer nervously.

"What do you guys say we take a small stroll to the old temple? We need to give slowpoke time to eat." Everyone but Yoshi perked up at Suzy's suggestion, although Ka-Chan perked up more out of shock then excitement.

"Really? Can we?"

"Sure, I took a small stroll up there a few months ago up to the Torii arches and no one stopped me." She snuck the last bit of Kuji's squid and spoke after eating it. "They were aged but they were still very sturdy looking to me. I've been itching to see the whole temple."

"Wow, they're still up there?"

"Of course they are."

"You want to go? At night? It's little dark out there…" Ka-Chan was thinking of reasons not to go. "We'll get lost without a light."

"I brought a couple flashlights and I think Ryouko-Chan has one of her own..."

"I have one too and as long as we stay on the path we should be fine." The three got up to leave.

"Wait…Ugh." She watched them walk away unable to think of a better reason to deter them.

"You can stay with your old dad if you don't want to go Ka-Chan." He smiled at her without realizing he had a noodle stuck to his chin.

"G-Guys? Wait up!" She got up and ran after the others after he said that. Her eye didn't stop twitching until she caught up to her brother in the back of the pack.

"Here have one." He handed the flashlight in his pack to Ka-Chan.

"Thanks, Matsu-Kun." She said weakly, running just ahead of him so she would have her back covered.

"Ugh, I'm starting to regret wearing Geta tonight." Kuji gave a displeased grunt when she nearly tripped.

"You just have to get used to them. Then you'll love them." Ryouko laughed. She walked in her sandals as perfectly as her purple and yellow sneakers.

"I know I'm not going to like this…" Ka-Chan whispered to herself as the trees and animals around them seem to ward them off with menacing silence and eerie shadows the pale lights cast when they laid upon them. The occasional scurry across her foot would force her to jump back and once into Matsu. "S-sorry, Matsu-Kun."

"It'll be fine Ka-Chan." Kuji piped up from in front of Ryouko and behind Suzy. "If there really is a demon it'll probably go after Suzy first since she's in front and the only adult."

"That makes me feel so much better Sis." She said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Glad to hear it." Suzy strutted proudly regardless of the grim prognosis. "Mothers are always supposed to protect their young…and their young's friends of course, Ryouko-San."

"Of course it might also be our dear brother since Matsu is in the back and the only boy."

"Oh, no. Sakura come up here! Your mother demands it!"

"Uh…I'm OK. I don't hear any scratching or anything…" He noticed how Ka-Chan started to shiver so he decided to light the mood a little by whistling. It only made Ka-Chan's superstitious-ness act up agaain.

"Matsu-Kun…" She jumped again when Ryouko jumped in to make the solo a duet. "Please, Ryouko-Chan." The other two joined in. "Don't do that! You don't want to attract snakes, do you?"

"Snakes? I thought they liked rattles." Kuji looked back at her over her shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about snakes, Ka-Chan. It's too cold for them to be out." Ryouko adjusted her bracelet as she reassured her. "Besides, they don't attack people unless they feel threatened, so they're usually more scared of you than you are of them."

"That doesn't count since they have fangs and venom …"

"Fangs are bad?" Matsu seemed a bit off put by that for some reason, like he was secretly taking it personally.

"Don't forget you have arms and legs and they're just a living string." Kuji added.

"I guess I would be uneasy if I didn't have my limbs either…" Ka-Chan admitted her defeat to Ryouko. "They have to exist for a reason, right?"

"That's right. They do a lot of things, like help keep the rodent population down."

"Here they are!" Suzy pointed the flash light at the old, spiritual arch that told them they were on the right track. "Hey, this is a perfect photo opportunity." She started to dig for her camera.

"Mom I'm not sure that's a good idea at all."

"I agree with Ka-Chan this time." Ryouko looked up at the grand structure with respect. "Exploring them is one thing, but taking pictures around them like a tourist attraction doesn't feel right."

"Alright." Suzy sighed but complied with their wishes. "We'll just look around unless I see any ghosts. Then all bets are off."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." The path continued a little further until another Torii stood at the foot of the long string of stairs.

"Great, my feet are going to fall off from all this." Kuji frowned.

The stone steps showed their age more than the arches did. Moss, leaves, and small budding plants hid the various cracks and chips quite poorly in the summer, but now it was covered by and orange and red shroud. Each step they took they felt and heard a series of crunches under their feet. A lantern-like statue stood at either side of the top of the stairs, one of which was broken in half. As they ascended a strange sight rose out of the obscurity of darkness.

The first thing was the large tree. It was centered just ahead of them. It was quite large, taking up most of the area that was once surrounded by a now broken and rotted wooden fence. The most unusual thing was the old thick rope tied around the trunk. It looked as if had chocked the base, but instead of stunting the plant's growth it had merely grown around it.

The shrine was behind it, or what they assumed was the shrine. It was completely cloaked by foliage, like a death shroud over an ancient corpse. There was only a large silhouette of dark green and in this time of year brown. The place was in infinite mourning, quiet and still. It would be left that way.


	11. Wasting Time

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 11

"It's going to be a big one tonight. I doubt we'll have school tomorrow." Ka-Chan looked at the TV with a grim look on her face. "Hope the electricity doesn't go out." She went to the hall closet to see if they had enough candles.

Matsu didn't mind the idea too much. The snow that is, not the power outage. He sat next to the window with his arms comfortably crossed and looked out at the still bright sky in his white shirt, black pants with little key-chain thing attached to belt loop, white gloves, red bowtie, and red hat. It looked far too sunny for a single flake to survive, but he knew better than to trust the atmosphere with eyes only.

"I hope so. I'm ready for a longer weekend." Kuji slouched in her seat.

"We might have to make it up at the end of the year."

"By then we won't be doing so much so I don't mind."

"Kuji-Chan, Matsu-Kun, put these in your room in case the power goes out overnight." Ka-Chan brought out two lanterns for her siblings.

"How old are these things?" Kuji picked up one of them and looked the illuminating tool at all angles. "Do they even work?"

"Of course they do. They work even better than the ones they make today."

"Somehow I don't believe you." She mumbled as she wiped the cob webs off hers and left the room.

"Wait, don't we have a power generator?" Matsu asked as he took up his.

"Yes, but you can never be too prepared. Besides, we need to see in order to turn on our generator, don't we?"

"That is true…" He looked out the window again. He was not very surprised to see snow was already sprinkling toward the earth, but there was something else too. "Hail?" He saw and heard the pings and crashes of little balls of ice plummeting to the earth.

"Oh, dear. I hope it doesn't get too bad…" She gasped as the lights flashed off. "…I knew it. Like I said, always be prepared." She ignored Kuji curse in her room after stumping her toe in the newly born darkness.

Matsu left the room for a brief moment, taking the lantern Ka-Chan had just lit with him. It took a minute or two, but he managed to get the lights back on before all the heat in the house completely dissipated. When he came back in the room there was a polite but slightly frantic ring of the doorbell.

"Hello?" He opened the door to see Ryouko. "Ryouko-Chan, you don't have to ring the doorbell. Come in." He moved out the way and motioned her to come in. He was very concerned since her father was out of town for a week visiting a sick relative.

"Thank you Sakura." She walked in quickly, holding a glass tank in her hand and a duffel bag she stuffed clothes in to soften the blow of the tiny ice projectiles. He was amazed she didn't drop the covered glass container. She was excellent at balancing.

"Ryouko-Chan? What's the matter? Did you lose power too?"

"Yes, I was wondering if it would be alright if Ryuto-Kun stayed with you. I don't want him to get cold. Please? The electric people said they won't be able to fix it until the storm stops and even them they have to take care other places first." She held the container up to Matsupoid.

"Of course it is, but what about you? You're not going back there alone are you?" He walked up the stairs to his room to set things up for Ryuto. His room was the only one with a shelf that had enough room for it.

"I have plenty of blankets…"

"Nonsense, you're not going back to the cold! You can stay here. We have lots of room." Ka-Chan scolded her. "I'm starting dinner soon and you can eat with us. We'll decide where you'll sleep after you get settled. You should really change. You look soaking wet, is it raining out there too?" She had a look in her eyes that demanded Ryouko accepted the aid mixed with concern. She could be twice as scary as Kuji when she wanted to be. Luckily she only uses her powers for good, since she only gets like this when someone refuses her help.

"Thank you. Ka-Chan." She bowed. "I'll find a way to repay you."

"There's no reason to. I'd hate to think what you did when the power went out before." She disappeared into the kitchen to warm up a quick cup of hot cocoa to warm the girl.

"We usually have a generator, but it broke down last year and we haven't fixed it yet." She started to shed her foot length green coat and purple sleeved yellow coat and put them in the closet across from the shoe cubby. Under those layers was a green long sleeve shirt with a black vest over that and purple and yellow knee length skirt with black stockings. She put up her green rain boots, put her bag next to the door and sat in the living room. She had been in that house many times before, but she had never spent the night there. The TV was going on about the debilitating weather.

"I put Ryuto-Kun in my room. He's started to perk up as soon as I put on the lamp." He appeared in the wide archway connecting the entryway to the living room.

"That fast?"

"He's just as active as his mother." He went to get her bag and take it upstairs after brushing off the bits of ice that stuck to it.

"I can get that."

"It's better this way. Relax Ryouko-Chan." He waved her concern away as he reached the top of the stairs. "Make yourself at home."

"But…" She looked around the room, trying to find something to occupy her time. She found the remote and hesitantly picked it up. She wasn't sure if she should-.

"You can change the channel if you want." She jumped a few inches off the couch when Ka-Chan placed the hot cocoa on the table in front of her.

"Is that hot chocolate!?" A shout came from upstairs from both siblings. Ka-Chan rolled her eyes. She's told them a thousand times to use their indoor voices. She walked out the living room and into the front hall to answer them.

"Yes, I've made some for you too and you're welcome!" She shouted at them without any sense of irony. There was a collective series of thuds as the two raced toward the stairs. Kuji took the lead after she pushed her taller and indecently but caught off guard brother over.

"…Wow." Ryouko looked at Kuji worryingly as she entered the room.

"Don't judge me. We don't get it that often." She dusted her blue and white fishtail skirt off and plopped onto the couch next to her.

"I can't feel my spleen anymore…" He got up from falling over the railing to the bottom floor, dusted himself off and slowly walked to the armchair. He had a look of sadness and betrayal in his eyes as he sat.

"It'll grow back."

"What was that noise?" Ka-Chan walked into the room with the rest of the cocoa and a raised brow at Kuji. She had noticed how displeased Matsu looked as he rubbed his back.

"Nothing." Kuji answered swiftly as she looked at her painted nails. Ka-Chan looked at her sister suspiciously as she put down all the cups.

"You didn't break anything did you?" She sat down on the other side of Ryouko.

"Nothing but my spine…"

"What?"

"Sh! Tattletale!" She hissed in a whisper.

"Uh. Let's see what's on huh?" Ryouko switched the button to see if it would be anything to change the inquisitive mood. "Oh, look! I wonder what this is."

"It looks like a kiddy show to me…" Kuji rolled her eyes.

"Kuji-Chan, if you hate kiddy stuff so much then why do you still have plushies around you when you sleep?" It was more of an innocent question rather than a vicious insinuation, but Kuji didn't take it like that.

"It'll be your kidneys next Matsu-Kun!"

"You cut it out or no dessert for anyone!" The room fell silent for a few moments.

"Aw, who's that? He's sooo precious."

"He looks like a green beaver."

"How? He has spines on his back."

"He's a cute widdle dinosaur!"

"What? Well…Yeah, I can see that."

"I just wanna hug him and cuddle 'em!" Ryouko squeaked happily when she heard the creature speak. "He's a widdle cutie just like Ryuto-Kun!"

"He looks like a bipedal stegosaurus…A little baby one." Matsu wasn't surprised how much Ryouko liked the creature. It seemed to fit all the criteria she considered 'adorable' in an animal.

"Ugh, what is that? It looks like a giant hairball."

"What?"

"That thing next to it. What is that?" Kuji pointed out the second creature. "It looks like it's in pain, a lot of pain."

"He doesn't look that bad…" Matsu looked at the creature with sympathy. He didn't see anything wrong with it. "I think he's kinda cool."

"He's the dinosaurs little buddy." Ryouko squeaked again. "He's cute too. Look at him with that little thing on his head!"

"Hm?" Matsu tilted his head as he noticed the odd ornament. "That's…He has a fan on his head. It looks kinda familiar…" He scratched his chin after taking a sip of cocoa as he tried to remember where he saw something like that.

"Ah, I think I've waited too long!" Ka-Chan got up and rushed to the kitchen.

"I guess he's OK." Kuji drank the rest of her hot chocolate. "He still looks unhappy to me."

"Yes! Got it just in time!" A distant cry echoed through the side hall. "Ka-Chanloid still hasn't burned a single thing!"

"You need some help?"

"No, Ryouko-Chan, but you should the TV off dinner's almost ready!"

"What happened to 'inside voices'?" Kuji did the air quotations as she mocked her sister. Matsu and Ryouko couldn't stop a little snicker from escaping. Ryouko flipped off the TV with as she did.

"I heard that Kuji-Chan!" Matsu froze and clasped his hands over his mouth as did Ryouko. Kuji merely shrugged it off. "You should be glad I'm not making you set the table for that one."

The hail part of the storm had just stopped just as they had finished cleaning the dishes, but the snow continued to pile outside as they sat in the living room.

"You're going to have a lot of shoveling to do tomorrow Matsu-Kun." Kuji shook her head as looked out the window, waiting for Ka-Chan to make her move. "I hate winter."

"What are you guys playing?" Ryouko walked over from checking in on Ryuto and feeding him some leaves and melon slices. He was sleeping when she left them or at least looked like it.

"Clue. You want to join? We'll have to start all over but we just started anyway."

"Sure, it looks fun." She kneeled up to the board between Matsu and Ka-Chan. "Why is the TV on if we're playing a game?" She asked as she picked the character she wanted.

"You know how Ka-Chan is when she plays games." Kuji handed her a pin and sheet.

"Not to mention if there are any further updates on the weather." Matsu shuffled each deck of cards individually.

"I just want to make sure I'm making the right move." She defended herself.

"It's also the reason we don't play Monopoly anymore." Kuji rested her chin on her hand as she looked at the TV. "She always has to be Banker, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Now I remember. That was the day I learned why Papa hates going to the bank so much." She looked over the rules on the pamphlet. The rules seemed simple enough.

"I didn't mind that much. At least we always got the right amount back." He started to pass out the proper amount of cards from each deck.

"Thank you Matsu-Kun." She glanced over hers before placing them face down on the space in front of her.

"Even if it did take a whole year to build a hotel." Kuji checked off her cards on the sheet.

"Hey, then it's almost like real life." Ryouko hummed happily. She was glad to find she wasn't a murderer. She looked at the TV. "Hey, where's the adorable Dino guy?"

"I don't think he's on any more so I changed it to a movie."

"Can you switch it to channel five? I think my old favorite show is on."

"Old favorite?" Ka-Chan rolled to see if she'd go first. She got a three.

"The show that was my favorite before I saw that one with the little Dino." She rolled next and ended up with a five. "Hey it's the channel number!"

"OK, I get it you win. I've seen this one anyway." Kuji lifted the remote and did what was requested of her. "I still get to control volume though." She then placed it down and rolled her own turn. It gave her a one.

"Yay, thank you Kuji-Chan!"

"I can't believe you watch that kid stuff. I thought you liked reptiles not frogs."

"Frogs are cute too." She took a brownie after Matsu and nibbled on it like a rabbit. "Especially Red-eyed tree frogs. Not that that's the reason why I watch it."

Matsu rolled last, but the dice revealed he would start with the first move. He rolled two dice this time to signify the start and ended with a six. He moved his character piece toward the closest room. After his move was finished he took a brownie from the bowl set aside and looked up at the silly show as it came back from commercial.

"Hand me one. I can't reach." The blue eyed girl tried to reach over the board for the sweets as Ryouko rolled a two.

"Only if you say the magic word Kuji-Chan." The girl with hair tied into two buns picked up the bowl. She ignored the heavy sigh.

"Please?"

"Please what?"

"Can I please have some brownies?" She restrained an eye roll as her shorter but technically older sister handed one cube to her and put the rest back. The game went on for a shorter period than most. Ka-Chan would usually blame Colonel Mustard since he looked the most violent to her. She would also pick the poison or rope for the entirety of the game. She did learn without a shadow of a doubt which room it was though.

"In the library with the rope and I think the Plum guy did it." Kuji crossed her arms which almost knocked over all the pieces with her accursed sleeves.

"Me?" Matsu frowned. It was the second time she blamed him today.

"She is right about the room." Ka-Chan confirmed one piece of the puzzle.

"There's nothing in mine."

"Well, let's see." Kuji picked up the envelope and let the contents drop to the board face up. "Ha, I win! You did it!" She made a very prideful pose.

"Sakura." Ryouko looked up at him worryingly. "You killed someone?"

"S-Sorry." Matsu bowed his head in shame. "I didn't mean to."

"You have to mean it if ya used rope Matsu-Kun." Kuji said as she munched on her victory brownie. "It's a noose, not a necklace."

"You wouldn't have done it without a really good reason." Ka-Chan patted him on the back after she finished putting everything in the box and took the bowl to wash in the kitchen.

"Um…Thanks?" Matsu stood up. He looked at the window. The sky was pitch-black and the snow was falling at half the speed now.

"We still need to decide where Ryouko-Chan's sleeping tonight." Kuji picked up a box of puzzle pieces and decided now was a good time to start putting it together. "We can't let her sleep in dad's room since that's worse than the living room."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"It's just a little messy since he doesn't let any of us in there."

"A little?" Kuji scoffed.

"I'll just sleep in here."

"You can sleep in my room. I'll be fine here." Matsu went up to the second floor hall to get the extra blankets. "The couch is actually long enough for me." She smiled at his little joke.

"Wouldn't it be better if I just bunked with Kuji-Chan or Ka-Chan?" It was too late. He was already setting the blankets and pillow next to the couch.

"You'd rather be in the room with Ryuto-Kun, wouldn't you?"

"I guess so…That would be nice." She hung off the side of the chair with the remote dangling in her hand. "He means a lot to me. He's the first pet I've had that Papa didn't return the wild immediately after finding out. He even comes to me when I call him."

"Kuji-Chan is it really the best time for that?" The most mature one of the group stepped down from the shelf used to hold up Board games and books with one of her favorite reads in her hand.

"This is what puzzles are made for, to put together during storms." She threw the pieces out of the box and onto the table. Ka-Chan's eye twitched at the new mess.

"He's a turtle. He can't be that smart. Ryuto-Kun probably only comes to you because he knows you're going to feed him." Kuji didn't even look up from her work as she changed the subject back to little Ryuto's intelligence.

"Ryuto-Kun is smart. He comes to me only when I call his name and he even sneaks out of his cage sometimes." She kept flipping through the numerous weather forecasts. "He just looks up at me sometimes when I don't call him and he's not doing anything, like he's waiting for me to say his name."

"When he's not doing anything?" It was baffling how well she could grasp things through the cloth of her sleeve. "You mean when he's not sleeping."

"No, he tries to climb things and swims around when he's not trying to escape." She adjusted herself on the seat properly as she kept switching. "He moves things in his tank around too."

"It's true I've seen Ryuto-Kun do those things. He comes to me when I call his name too." Matsu was starting his a game of solitaire.

"See? A witness." She narrowed her at the third infomercial she's passed through. "I wish I knew which channel that show was on…"

"That show you saw today before supper?" Matsu looked around to see if he couldn't find the TV guide. "It might have been on the Fuji channel."

"I'll find out tomorrow." Ryouko found some show that'll hold her interest for the time being.

"Matsu-Kun, how much gas did the generator have in it when you turned it on?" Ka-Chan looked up from her book after she thought she saw the lights dim. She was wrong.

"There should be enough to last another five hours, but we have plenty stored in containers too." He looked up at the clock to make sure his timing was right. "I'll fill it up before we go to bed."

A sudden burst of music filled the room. "It's probably Papa. He usually calls to check in." Ryouko took her phone with a small turtle keychain out of her pocket and observed the number. "I'll tell him about the storm." She answered the call and left the room. "Hello Papa, I-." The TV was for a short time the only sound to compete with the whistling winds. It was quiet even after Ka-Chan's phone started to ring since it was on vibrate.

"Hm?" She glanced at the number before answering. "Dad? He must've heard about the storm." She answered it after placing the book back on the shelf. Before she left the room the other two could hear him.

"Thank goodness you answered! I was so worried when your sister didn't pick up her phone. Are OK my sweet little dumpling?" They were cut off just as she closed the door upstairs.

"Dumpling? Egh." Kuji started to connect some of the border. "I'm glad he doesn't call me that."

"Sometimes he calls you his 'little mermaid' when you're not around." Matsu placed the fourth ace in its proper place. "That one's not so bad."

"What do you mean by 'that one'?" She frowned at him. "What else does he call me?"

"Uh." He hesitated realizing a little too late he sold his father out again. He seemed to do that to the old man more than anyone else. "His 'little sushi roll'." He mentally apologized to his father for the future pain he caused.

"What? That's so lame!"

"What's so lame?" Ryouko walked in after saying goodbye to her father.

"That name daddy calls me!" She practically smashed one of the sea grass blades into place.

"You told her about 'Kappa Girl'?"

"N-No! I-."

"What!?"

"It was only one time." Matsu and Ryouko held their hands up in defense. "We swear."

"Don't worry, I believe you." She sighed. She connected a fishes head to its body as she continued. "You get all the good names." Matsu and Ryouko gave her a look that told her to explain. "He just calls you 'Big Guy' or 'Bowtie', nothing lame or cutesy."

"I get it. You just feel like he's babying you when he calls you that."

"I guess you could say that… Uh, oh." Kuji stated to look around the table and floor anxiously.

"What's wrong now?"

"I'm missing a piece. Ryouko-Chan, can you help me please?" Her friend quickly got on her hands and knees and started to look around for the remaining section.

"Sakura, do you see it anywhere?" She asked as she peaked under the table.

"Not really…" Matsu was still trying to find a queen of hearts.

"Well don't just sit there help us!" Matsu sighed and tried to put the cards back. "Hurry! I don't want to hear Ka-Chan give me a speech about losing things again."

"I'm helping." They looked around the room for over an hour. They checked and rechecked behind every piece of furniture and inch of carpet they could until Ka-Chan walked into the room in her nightgown and freshly washed and dried and brushed hair.

"What are you doing?" The two siblings stood straight as sticks in front of her. Ryouko tried to do the same, but her head hit the table she was crawling under.

"Nothing." Kuji crossed her arms indifferently while Matsu checked to see if Ryouko was alright.

"Then why were you all crawling on the floor like a bunch of kittens?" She looked Kuji up and down. "Like Kittens missing their Mittens."

"…Um, what?" Kuji cocked her head to the side, wondering what happened to her sister's brain.

"Is this what you're looking for?" She pulled something from Kuji's pony tail that was slowly starting to grow white tips and handed the object to her.

"H-how did it get there?" After a short lecture toward the middle sibling and a little cleaning up it was time to dress for bed.

"Um, are you sure you're OK with this? Do you at least want your blankets from your room?" Ryouko peeked into the living where Matsu was setting up his temporary sleeping arrangement. He was in his red and orange pajama bottoms. He looked different with his glasses set on the table. She was wearing yellow PJ top and Purple PJ bottom with a green robe.

"That's just too much effort. I usually sleep over them anyway." He smiled at her. She could see his red irises much clearer without the red tinted glasses.

"OK. Well, goodnight." She said.

"Goodnight." He threw the thin sheet over the long seat and pillow. She walked over to his room. She closed the red and orange door behind her as she stepped into yellow walled room with posters of flowering trees on one side and snow covered landscapes on the other. To the right was the shelf with a few books, small figurines of various animals both mythical and ordinary, pictures of the people he cared about, and Ryuto looking up at her with what she assumed were happy eyes. The left had his closet with his clothes and such. On the nightstand next to the bed with red and orange blankets and pillows was an origami crane, a clock with snowcapped mountains as ornamentation, and a photo.

She didn't get a chance to see the photo before. She pushed away the feeling of intrusion as she walked up to it. It was a photograph of all of four them at the Cherry Blossom festival. The pink blossoms framed them perfectly. She smiled with a small blush. She was going to have good dreams that night.

* * *

**Not the best of chapters but the next will be a big one, maybe not in a good way... 6w6"**


	12. Finding Solace

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 12

"More snow is it?" A black, sleek car drove up the lonely and cold road as white flakes danced sadly around the heavy air. "No matter, even if it does follow us to our destination it'll only prove to make things less complicated." A stern and increasingly impatient woman glanced out at the white emotionless sky.

"It'll be dark by the time we get there." The doctor's excitement was growing with every mile. He could barely contain his toothy grin. He loved the darkness, so concealing.

"I'm well aware of that Dr. Kimchi." She flipped on the windshield wipers to clear the way. "It'll prove to aid us in this little assignment." Her ears caught onto a snicker escaping his lips. He was an odd fellow, but she needed him for the research if anything would happen to her first, less loyal choice. It was a possibility she was well prepared for.

"There you go, it's your favorite." Ryouko dropped a few cut slices of melon into the tank. "Eat up Ryuto-Kun." She watched him for a few moments before leaving the house. She hugged her father at the table and picked up her bag at the door after changing her shoes.

"You ready?" Matsu and the others waited outside for her in the cold.

"Yeah." They started their walk toward the train station. The grass was white with microscopic ice crystals clinging to the vegetation all around them. Their breaths showed themselves every second in white puffs of smoke. Ryouko looked up at the cold white sky. It looked so lifeless, so empty.

"I hope it doesn't rain…"

"Hm?" Matsu and his sisters looked up at the sky as well. "Isn't it too cold for rain?"

"If history is any indication then it'll snow or even hail." Kuji huffed, causing an even larger puff of vapor to show itself. "This year's been so miserable."

"It's not that bad."

"For you maybe. The rest of us can't stand the cold like you." The bus stop was nearly empty as was normal in a nonworking day. The train was arriving just as they reached the top steps of the platform. The train was not as roomy, but they did manage to find seats albeit slightly sticky at the end from a spilled drink. It was filled with chatter mostly consisting of the usual gossip mixed with buzz about the upcoming holiday season.

"Please tell me they're all going to the mountain springs." Ka-Chan looked at the mass of people with a sense of dread. "I knew we should have done this earlier…"

"Tell that to Mrs. Katsuki." Kuji lunged for her bag when a passerby knocked it off. "This is worst year in so many ways."

"Well, we are seniors now. Just imagine how college is." Kuji froze up from the thought. She hasn't even considered the future.

"Uh, right… So, what are you going to get your dad and mom?" She had a nervous smile as she switched the conversational gears.

"A cookbook probably, I can't think of anything else he'd want that he doesn't already have." Ryouko thought for a moment about her father to be sure. "As for Mama Papa and I pulled some money together to surprise her with a couple of computers so we can video chat when she's away."

"Aw, that's sweet. I bet she'd like that. Wait, what are we going to get for our parents?" The shortest looked up at the others nervously. She didn't want this present to lame like the first year. After that wasn't so bad but she wanted this year to really mean something since they were the people who helped give her and her siblings life.

"Ah, don't worry about it Ka-Chan. We'll think of something. I already know what I'm getting Dad. It's something I know he'll love."

"A crate of peaches?" Kuji spoke with more attitude than a honey badger had.

"…Um, no." Matsu frowned. "That'll go bad before I get a chance to give it to him. It's something I saw the last time we were there. I just hope they still have it." Matsu looked out at the scenery. He was planning on giving his father a Mahjong set since it was his favorite. That way he could play the game he loved more often and quite possibly even be good at it.

"Mom, hm. What would she like that she doesn't already have?" Ka-Chan hummed as she thought about it.

"You think something from the town she grew up in would make her happy?"

"Hey that's not a bad idea, but how are we going to get something from a town that's practically on the other side of the country? We could order something but it might take too long to get here."

"It's worth a try. It's not that far, but it would take too long to get there. If it's late we could always wrap up a picture of the present and write 'coming soon' on it, but what exactly would we get from there anyway?" The whole seat had fallen into deep thought at Matsu's question. "Hm."

"Why don't you guys get her a picture from our summer trip there and frame it for her? The frame could be made from the trees that grow there."

"That sounds good, but how are we going to get the wood? Can't just buy online can we?" They threw around a few more ideas as the train chugged onward. They were still unsure of the proper gift when they got to the city. They practically had to squeeze their way out of the doors as the storm of travelers unintentionally fought to separate them.

"Who knows, we might find something she likes at the mall. She likes ghosts maybe we'll find one there."

"I'm pretty sure giving ghosts as gifts is a surefire way to get cursed Kuji-Chan…"

"Hm, what would the kids like?" Suzy looked at her phone's calendar as her mind searched for the most meaningful answer.

"Fancy seeing you here." She looked up to see Yoshi standing across from her and closing in with his usual smile.

"Yeah, considering this is my apartment building you're standing in front of." She laughed. "What is it? I've got things I gotta do."

"Uh, I was…Wanna go shopping for presents with me? I…Don't want to go shopping for the girls alone. Last time I did I got kicked out of two clothing stores." He ran his hand through his hair. "That is if you're not too busy."

"Knowing you it's a distinct possibility." She sighed heavily. He could be of some use. "Yeah, I was about to do that anyway. Just try to be a little less like you, OK?" She shook her head as he cheered.

"You got it! I'll be as honorable as Matsu-Kun!" He said with a wide smile.

"Pah! You wish." She started to walk toward the garage. "We're taking my car, right?"

"Yeah, mine's still in the shop…Eh heh."He started to follow her.

"What happened this time?"

"My brake line was cut so I ended up in the river."

"WHAT!?" He was nearly deafened by the loud screech that emitted from her mouth.

"Um, ow." He clasped his hands onto his ears.

"Why didn't you tell anyone? You could have been killed!" She stopped just as she was entering the garage to glare at him.

"I didn't want anyone to worry. Besides, I wasn't hurt too bad, just some bumps and bruises." He shrugged as he walked past her.

"You do realize how unlikely it is for your brakes to cut themselves, right?" She walked a little faster to catch up to surpass and turn to him again.

"Oh, come off it who would want to-." He stopped in his tracks. A horrible truth struck him like a pile of bricks. "N-no, it's just old. It wore apart." He shook his head.

"What? You know something. Spill it." They were at her car, but she wasn't going to unlock until he talked.

"I…I should have told but…I was afraid I'd-." He sunk his head. He took a quick look around to see no one was there to hear. "I think Danielle is trying to get rid of the kids, but only because she thinks they could break. So far she's let me handle it. She told me to take care of them if anything happened since they were acting so well I figured-." He looked up at Suzy shyly, expecting her to smack him or yell.

"But something tells you there's another reason?" She unlocked the doors and got in, telling him he should do the same before continuing.

"It's Tei, er, Dr. Kimchi. He said something strange, but he's a peculiar guy so I just assumed he gabbing on about nothing, but Danielle hasn't spoken to me about any of the reports for a while and Kimchi said she visits him a lot... I'm starting to think he cut my brakes…"

"So what, you think Danielle is replacing you with Dr. Kimchi and starting a new project?" He nodded. She turned to the wheel and started the car. "What do you think we should do?"

"Move the kids. She can't take them if she can't find them. Then we'll report them to the company and get them installed. She might not be able to do anything then." He pulled out a number on a small note. "I've been talking to them for a while. They've started to investigate her. Apparently she keeps putting off an appointment even after they proved functional for the required time period." He rested his head against the head of the seat. "I should have never trusted her. She probably just wants to use the research for her own gain. I just wanted things to settle itself, but now that I think about those brakes…"

"No, she's not going to like that, Kuji-Chan." Ka-Chan shook her head. "She's allergic to strawberries, remember?"

"Just because she's allergic to them doesn't mean she won't like them on a dress. It'll look good on her." She put the article of clothing back even after making the argument. Matsu walked up with a package in a Christmas bag.

"I got Dad's present." He said proudly as he held it up.

"What is it?" Kuji eyed it as if she was trying to use X-ray vision. He lifted it out of the bag and showed it to them.

"Matsu-Kun that's a great idea!" Ka-Chan practically clapped from excitement.

"What a small painted briefcase? Well, I guess the design is neat…"

"It's a Mahjong set Kuji-Chan." Her sister rolled her eyes. "I wish Mom was this easy to shop for, she doesn't like jewelry or have any hobbies like Dad."

"Maybe you guys should give her something to start with." Ryouko walked up with her own package. "Get her some neat coins or a model plane to put together."

"I guess we could, but how do we know she'll like it?" The droopy eyed girl could only respond with a shrug.

"Didn't she say she used to collect bugs?" Matsu walked alongside the others as they browsed around for their last purchase. "Maybe we should get her some of those pinned ones."

"I don't think she'd want ones that were killed in order to be decorations… Oh! I know! There's a photography store that takes pictures of a bunch of animals. They should have some bug pictures." Kuji made her way to the mall exit. "I went there for some sea pics. It's old so it's at the old part of the city where they're thinking about renovating."

The city became less crowded as they waded through the cold. It became more silent. There was a row of old worn stores that held against the crippling absence of commuters.

"Here it is." The building was better well-kept than the rest. It was doing slightly better than the ones around it. Small snowflakes began to fall as the shop came into view.

"Eh, I always thought of it as the Gods' dandruff."

Matsu looked around. "Did you say something Kuji-Chan?"

"Here it is."

"Oh."

"Looks like a storm." He thought he heard the voice coming from the darkening street in front of them. He figured there must have been a gentleman there talking to another silent pedestrian.

"You coming, Sakura?" Ryouko stood in front of the door.

"I-." A sudden coughing fit filled the air. Matsu was baffled at how Ryouko or the others didn't seem to notice. They wouldn't just blatantly ignore someone who was sick. "I have to check something." He started to run into the empty, snow filled darkness. "You go on without me Ryouko-Chan!"

"Sakura, wait!" Ryouko ran after him. She didn't like him running off into an empty street.

The snow fall quickened with every step Matsu looked around for the man he thought was in trouble. He heard some footsteps in the distance.

"Hello? Is someone there?" He cried out.

"Sakura? Sakura where are you?" She looked about nervously. She lost him in the darkness and snow, her footsteps now causing a small repetitive crunch in the carpet of white. She heard some crunches go into a building and decided to follow, thinking it was Matsupoid. "Sakura, is that you?"

"Too old, a shame." She turned around just as the doors closed behind her. A terrible chemical smell finally reached her as she tried to open the door.

"They're can't be any witnesses, a decoy would be preferable." A woman's voice signaled the eruption of a fierce flame that started to devoir the terrible chemical sprinkled across the abandoned building. Ryouko dropped to the floor and put a cloth over her mouth and nose. She tried to look for another way out between her sickening coughs. She saw an open door way in the far end of the ever-growing inferno. She bolted for it, desperately trying to escape and find Matsu. She was certain he was in trouble now. The door was open just a crack but it was all she needed. She reached for it only for it to shut tight.

"You would have made a grand specimen. He hee." She reached for the handle and pulled with all her might. It screeched loudly as it moved an inch she became hopeful until a dart struck her in the neck and the world around her darkened.

"S-Sakura ruuuuuun!"

Matsu had given up on his search for the mysterious man. He was on his way back when he saw the windows of an old factory light up in a fierce light. He heard a loud screech of metal and noticed the footsteps in the snow. He heard a voice. This one he knew immediately.

"Ryouko!" He ran to the building. He tried to push the doors open. He yanked on it with every bit of strength he could muster and the hinges snapped off like Pocky after a few minutes.

The flames roared and greedily claimed the area covering another screech of metal. A grand and heavy dread threw itself on the tall, slender shoulders. Matsu pushed it aside. His back suddenly felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives as he looked about the building in frenzy.

He thanked the heavens when he saw her body at the end of the building. The heat suffocated him worse than anything he'd ever felt before, even more than that summer trip when he fainted, but he pushed it aside. He finally reached the limp girl. He quickly snatched her up and made for the exit, seeing there was no other way out. The back door was closed shut.

The whole building was creaking from an otherworldly pain. His back was excruciating now, begging him to flee. He shook his head to keep the drowsiness away and continued with Ryouko. Half way through there was a large snap. Some debris had fallen and rocketed toward the pink haired rescuer. He swatted the pieces away like a bat hitting a home run. The large bits flew to the side but a small flame managed to catch on his left sleeve and his let chest area. He quickened his pace, the flames eating away at the coat sleeve and chest.

"Hang on Ryouko-Chan." He reached the wide opening and breathed a sigh of relief as he held her in his arms. He exited and found out they were still in danger.

"Hm, your mind is stronger than I thought." The stern and professional woman stood in front of them with a gun pointed at Matsu's head. "I'll give you a moment to put her down if that's what you want."

Matsu didn't say anything. He was shocked that Miss Danielle could speak his language, but he was silent because he knew it would do no good. He glared at her as he set the girl on the cold soft snow. The gun followed as he did. He held up his hands and rose back up. He towered over her. He contemplated lunging at her, but didn't want to risk any random shots hitting Ryouko.

"Don't hurt them." Was all he said. It was all he wanted to say to her.

"We'll see. I hope you enjoyed your short time here." She said smugly. She tightened the grip on the trigger. Time seemed to standstill. A sudden bombardment of footsteps flew toward them.

"No!" Out of the darkness arose Yoshi Kenmochi. He threw himself in the way of the gun's deadly gaze.

"Dad, Get-." There was a loud bang that broke the night silence. Matsu's father fell to the ground along with the fresh snow that was not decorated with a precious red liquid. "Dad!" Matsu kneeled to his father's side and tried to see what he could do to help him.

"Fools like that only help to prove Darwin's theory of Natural Selection." The woman chuckled. She held her gun back at Matsu. "No matter, I no longer require his- Ugh!" She fell to the ground as Ryouko gave her a strong right hook. She took advantage of the woman's stunned state and kicked the gun out of her hand.

"Do you ever shut up?" She showed an unnatural anger as she disarmed the female.

"Y-." The female stared at her in shook before making a dive for the far off weapon.

"That's not your best move." A man in a professional suit held a gun to her head this time. He kicked the item out of her path and motioned her to get up.

"Dad, it's going to be OK. Stay awake!" Matsu was hold his hand against the wound on his father's chest. He had misty eyes behind the red tinted glasses.

"M-Matsu-Kun…" The man looked at his son with tiered eyes. "Please listen to me…"

"Save your breath Dad."

"I, no matter what happens." He coughed up a small speck of blood. "Wh-whatever happens, I will always be proud of you and your sisters. Don't forget, you are my greatest creations and I love all of you." He smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.

"Dad?" He let his head drop. Yoshi was gone.

The ambulance rolled away in silence alongside the police car shortly after the fire was put out. A shadow slinked into the darkness, mumbling on about the perfect specimen as it hid away. The man in the suit from earlier politely left the family alone, deciding the 'installment' can wait until tomorrow. He knew the perfect place for the new male installment's equipment to be sewed in.

The group huddled together a mourned the night's events. Matsu's clothes were partially burned and his white gloves were now red from pressing the wound. His sleeve and spot on his chest were burned away revealing his skin underneath.

"Thank goodness you're alright Matsu-Kun. I was so worried." Suzy hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes before she gave Ryouko the same gesture.

"I, I should have-." He shook his head.

"Don't you start." Kuji patted him on the back but spoke with a stern tone. "You couldn't stop him. He wouldn't have wanted it that way and he doesn't want you to mope about it either. He'd-." She chocked up a little, regretting all the poor things she'd said about her father. "He'd want us to live our lives to the fullest. We have to live for him."

"That does sound like him, doesn't it?" Matsu managed his characteristic smile. He looked up at the gentle snowfall. "To be carefree like him…To be fearless just like him. That's what he'd want."

* * *

The cover image was made By ZekoNeko on Deviantart.


	13. Passing Years

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**...**

**This might not necessarily seem WARNING worthy but I just have a feeling it's better to just throw it out there while I'm bringing something else up anyway. ^_^**

**There is a relationship in here that people in the fandom may not agree with and when I say that I don't mean a romantic relation. It's the exact opposite actually. This is how I see the relationship between the two and if you see it differently than you can always just pretend as you read anyway or say, write your own. We need more Matsupoid fanfics darn it! Q_Q**

**I also like to apologize for unmarked jumps in time. doesn't like the little 8's and they like to act like they're putting down a line thing and just chuck it out the window so Have to try a new approach. 6_6**

**Thank You for spending your free time on my Silly Babies. QwQ (I always wanted to say that.) = v =**

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 13

"It's been sooo long! So long, but now…My work." An older man stood hunched over a cold steel table. "My work has amassed to this, this glorious creation!" He held the box to the light to see its full glory. "Now it's so simple! Just one injection will do the work of an entire surgery! Heee hee! This sample will be the first to test it. Now, for a subject…"

TIME

"There's no need for alarm. It's just a checkup considering his blood line." A woman in a white coat spoke to a now young woman holding her month old son.

"Why can't I go in there with him? It would make me feel so much better about this." Ryouko looked affectionately at the infant in her arms as the woman held his out. The child had a peaceful expression as he slept. His head was covered with a fur-like green since the moment he was born. "Please Doctor Maya, it would mean a lot to me."

"I promise you it won't take long. You'll just serve as an unnecessary distraction. I'm sorry, it's against regulation." She gave a reassuring smile as she held her arms out again. "I won't let anything happen to him, I promise." She didn't want show it but her patience was waning a bit but it was only because she had another appointment after this involving a new more traditional installment after she checked out the health of this undecided. She felt a strong sense of guilt as the cries of 'just give the dang baby lady' arose in her mind.

"…Sorry." Her guilt just tripled as the green haired woman handed the boy over. "I'm kinda new at this. I wasn't trying to say I don't trust you. I just have a really bad feeling."

"It's alright, perfectly understandable." She took the child and turned to the door before she paused. She exited the hall leaving the still sleepy eyed mother alone. She sat on a nearby chair as she looked around for something to take her mind off the dreadful feeling.

"Ka-Chan was right…As usual." She moaned. The last time she had seen her friend was before the baby had come and she probably won't another chance until Christmas but that was only a month away so it wasn't that bad. "I should have brought a book."

"Here, you can have mine." She gasped as she turned to a young gentleman with long purple hair tied back in a large ponytail in the back and two tinier ones on the front sides of his head. She hadn't noticed him before since he was so quiet. "I've read it three times already. I also have another one I brought."

"The Samurai Code?" She read the title aloud. "Thank you…So why are you here?" She asked as she took the book from him.

"I get to meet my first sibling today…After I get a little checkup first." He answered with more excitement pertaining to the first statement. "I'm hoping for a brother but I don't think it's very likely considering what the doctors were saying about her. It'll be great either way."

"Oh, really? That sounds great! I'm so happy for you."

"Alright little one." The doctor placed the child on a special table on loan from the hospital. "I'm glad I took all those natal care classes." She carefully freed the child from his yellow blanket and examined him. "I don't think the nurses missed anything but better safe than sorry."

There was a knock on the back door that grabbed at her attention. "Doctor? I think there's a slight problem you need to check with the carrot subject. It'll only take a moment of your time."

"Can it wait until the waking appointment? I can't leave this infant alone."

"No, someone disconnected her program link and I think you're the only one on hand that can fix that." The man opened the door. She sighed.

"Alright, watch him will you? Just make sure he doesn't fall off the table and if he wakes up try to keep him entertained." She left the room in rush. The program link needed to be reattached as quickly as possible before the equipment tried to wake the subject by itself and cause irreparable damage to the lifelike circuits.

"No problem." The man walked in with a confident smirk. "My wife lets me take of the kids lots of times…" He stopped once he realized it was a baby. "Of course they're teens now so…" He rubbed his throat as he watched the child. "Man, this just had to happen on my lunch break. So thirsty…"

"Hm, maybe you should get a quick drink. I'll look after him while you do." A man in a white coat walked in. He looked over the glasses that slid down his nose. "Just don't take too long or she'll catch you."

"Hey, thanks man I owe you one." He waved and darted down the hall.

"Heh, heh. Oh, don't worry this'll benefit me as well." He mumbled as he pulled something out from his coat. He acted quickly as he took the syringe out of the sanitized box and uncapped it. He flicked the needle as he made sure it worked and made a quick injection. "Hee, hee. This specialized batch should only change the parts I want it to if it works like I believe it will." The child began to stir a bit as it felt the needle leave but surprisingly hadn't fully awakened. He heard approaching footsteps and packed everything up before darting off.

"Hey I'm- Where'd that guy go?" The man wiped his mouth off with his sleeve as he looked around the room. "What the-? How'd you get that?" The man noticed a small spec of blood on the child's arm but didn't see any wound so he merely wiped it off with a wipe he found among the medical supplies. "I wish my kids were good as babies like you were. All this time and you're still asleep."

"It's been nice talking to you, Gackpoid-san." She waved to the young man as he was ushered by his doctor to another room.

"Same here. I hope your son's alright." He said before vanishing behind the door. Not two seconds later doctor Maya came out with little Ryuto.

"Oh, great timing." She smiled ear to ear as she came up to him. As he returned to his mother he finally opened his pure green and sleepy eyes after an especially long yawn and looked up at her. "Let's get you home and see Papa Ryuto-Kun."

_TIME_

"Then why can't ostriches fly?" The little four year old Ryuto asked curiously as he looked up from his origami crane at his cousin Pit, the older of the two twins. He wore his favorite green shirt that had the characteristic yellow and purple belly stripes, dark green jacket, and dark green shorts. His green soft fur-like hair had grown to form a set of bangs that needed to be trimmed every once in a while and his teeth were reminiscent of an adorable rabbit. Next to him was his favorite stuffed Dino resting against his green dinosaur themed backpack. "They have lots of feathers."

"Because they're too dumb just like the dodo bird was." Pit was two years older than him and two minutes older than Klay which she never let him forget at birthdays. She was mostly a sweet girl that had light orange hair that was tied in a bun like her mother's. She wore a loose fitting purple shirt that had three red hearts on it and a tang top under that coupled with cutoff jean shorts and a swirly shell keychain.

Her only problem other than the birthday thing and the few times she would tease her brother about Doraemon or her cousin about Gachapin was her love of telling tall tales and sometimes playing small tricks. She would never scare anyone other than Klay too much or even hurt anyone, but her fibs did lead to some very awkward questions Ryouko and mostly Matsu would have to answer. You can guess what the most uncomfortable was.

"They're so dumb they stick their head in the dirt every time they get scared." She added.

"That's not true." Ryuto interjected, but paused and turned to his other cousin sitting next to him and spoke with an unsure tone. "Is it Klay-Kun?"

"Uh, um." The boy was mostly similar to his sister physically aside from his hair being shorter, parted differently, had some freckles, and a birth defect that caused his left arm to be cut off at the elbow. He wore a lime green short sleeved shirt, a white undershirt with one long sleeve, and knee length jeans. At his side was a stuffed earless robot cat.

"I, I don't know." He shrugged before getting back to his distorted origami lantern. Recently they just started assuming everything was wrong but then she started throwing true facts into the mix to keep them guessing. "…I still don't think bats have tiny feathers."

"It's true! I saw it on TV." She finally kneeled down at the children's table and grabbed a paper of her own. "Only things with feathers can fly so bats have feathers." She started to fold the paper into something in Klay's instruction book.

"This doesn't look like the picture…" The shorter of the twins looked at the book and back at his creation.

"I think you should start over bro."

"Do you want me to help? It's one of the harder ones."

"No thanks Gacha. I want to finish this without your help this time." He unfolded the paper and placed it under a heavy history book in an attempt to flatten it out for later use before getting a new piece. "I wonder what's taking Mom so long."

"She's probably talking to Aunt Kuji. That usually takes her an hour at the least." Pit was having a small problem a fold she had to redo several times. "I like it better when Aunt Gacha and Uncle Matsu take us places. They don't take three years to chat."

"Yeah, Papa doesn't like talking to strangers or Auntie Kuji like your Mama and Papa does." He started to play with his paper crane much in the same his always did when he finished one, flapping the wings and going 'peep, peep' as he flew it around.

Pit shook her head as she watched him. "I'm surrounded by toddlers."

"Hey, you are the same age as me, remember?" Klay shot back. His sister was about to say something smart when the door opened.

"It's time to clean up kids." Ka-Chan stood in the doorway with rosy red cheeks from the outside cold. She had on a thick pale yellow cotton coat on with tan pants, black gloves, knitted hat, and she would be wearing work boots if she wasn't inside. It wasn't the types of shoes she usually wore unless it was really cold out there and they noticed fall white flakes clinging to her shoulders.

"Is it snowing outside?" The children turned to the windows to see small flakes fall in a thick curtain toward the ground. They quickly gathered the paper together and put them back in the drawer designated for it got the things they would take with them.

Ryouko and Kuji stood next to the door as the children rushed down the stairs and across the main hall to the entrance room with Ka-Chan in tow. The house they had moved in three years ago was slightly larger than the 'first house'. It was closer to the city with a backyard that was framed by trees.

Kuji was soaking in every bit of the warmth before she'd have to go back out. Her blue oversized sleeves rubbed up against the arms of her leather coat that covered up her favorite dress as she tried to get as warm as possible. Her orange pearl earrings dangled back and forth from such movements. Her hair was now tipped white as the rest remained black and blue that was usually tied up in a ponytail but right now curled up from under her hat.

Ryouko wore an emerald green jacket with a yellow shirt underneath, black stockings, long purple skirt, a purple ribbon around her neck, and purple and yellow earmuffs. She held an assortment of outer wear in her arms. Both women were soaked in snow more than Ka-Chan.

"Come here Gacha." She said as she crouched to his level. He took off his bag and put his arms up so she can put a winter coat over his darker button up shirt then a purple and yellow scarf and his green paperboy hat. She tried to put on another scarf when he cried out 'Mama, I'm fine'. He then put on his Gachapin boots. He would often put up a lot of fuss when it came to winter attire, always saying he was too hot and asking why his father never had to wear so much which in turn lead to Matsu having to wear a coat just for setting an example. She used to put earmuffs and gloves on him but he would always loose them.

Kuji held up Pit's pink coat for her after she put on her earmuffs. "Thank you Auntie."

"You're welcome honey."

"Here you go, Klay-Kun." Ka-Chan helped her son with his blue back pack after he put on his blue coat and cap.

"Thanks Mom." He mumbled. They walked out, with the exception of Ryuto who bolted like a race horse out the starting gate over to Kuji's car.

"Careful Gacha! Don't slip on the ice!" She cringed after locking the front door as the boy slipped a little on the walkway.

"Just like his mother, too much spare energy." Kuji teased.

"Did they sell that house next to you yet?" Ryouko asked her as she got into the passenger seat of the blue car. "It's been for some time."

"You didn't tell me Tenaka-San moved out." Ka-Chan expressed shock as she ushered the children in the back seat. "When did that happen?"

"Don't remind me about that creep." She spat as she started the car. "I try to forget him even if he died from chocking on a pair of chopsticks that doesn't change how terrible he was."

"Ah, remember there are children in here!" Ka-Chan shouted as she covered the closest adolescent's (Ryuto's) ears even though he didn't seem particularly interested at the moment because he messing with the buttons on his coat.

"Cool! How'd that happen?"

"Pit! I swear you're too much like your father sometimes…" Her mother scolded.

"What'd she say? I wanna know!" Ryuto frowned. He was always the one left out of the loop. He fidgeted with his scarf as he fished for any information from the twins.

"Nothing sweetie." His mother answered before the two twins exclaimed anything.

"It's been sold actually." Kuji continued the conversation as she steered the vehicle. "The new residents haven't moved in yet however so I'm not sure if it's a trade up or not."

"I'm sure they'll be alright." Ryouko shuffled through coat pockets to make sure she had her cell and wallet.

"Are you missing something? You should really start carrying a purse."

"No, I got everything. I even brought some tissues." She said as she padded on one of her inner pockets. "And a pen."

"I think you tainted her Ka-Chan." Kuji watched the road more carefully as she entered the city. "She's starting to carry around too much stuff like you."

"Everything in my purse has a use some are just useful in more unlikely events."

"Right," Kuji rolled her eyes as she turned into a parking building. "Like that ball of yarn in case of a giant kitten attack."

"It's in case we get lost in the woods so we can mark our way."

"Couldn't you use lipstick for that?" Surprisingly Klay was always the one to interject into an adult conversation first usually giving way to the others.

"Yeah that way birds won't pick it up and make nests out of it." Ryuto added as the car came to a stop.

"They have a point."

"…Never you mind Pit." Ka-Chan closed the door and joined the others as the car beeped into lockdown and Ryouko was reassembling her sons coat and scarf. The crowd was pretty thick in the street which was expected in this time of year after school let out. Ryouko not taking any chances after that one time at a cherry blossom festival picked up Ryuto and carried him to the destination.

The mall was much more comforting and less crowded. Lights of different colors and festive greenery decorated every railing and window with a large synthetic tree stood at the center decorated with various ornaments and color changing lights. The green haired woman kneeled at the child's level as she let him down. "Remember what I told you about running off, Gacha." She said as she unbuttoned his coat in the slightly warm building.

"Yes Mama." He answered sweetly. He felt bad for the time he made her cry when she thought she lost him. He would never forget her tears.

"I'm glad Gacha." She rose up after losing his scarf a little for him.

"Where to first?" Kuji dusted off the layer of snow on her shoulders and hat onto the tile floor.

"The craft store is the closest I believe. We need materials for the ornaments."

"I thought we already had ornaments. Can't we just buy the yearly ones with dates and kid's names on them?"

"We can't just buy everything." Ka-Chan turned to Kuji. "We have to reserve of things for activities for the kids. That's what tradition's all about."

"This isn't even our holiday."

"Hey mom? We're gonna head to the food court real quick, OK?" Pit and Klay turned to their mother.

"No, I don't want you ruining your appetite." She said sternly. Her kids groaned as they glanced at the clock to see it was two hours from noon. About half of one of those hours was spent in the craft and then a book shop. Not exactly the best places to have fun but the kids made the best of it.

"Aw man. I don't see any comics here. What kind of book store is this?"

"The lame adult kind. They don't have the good Mangas." The twins sighed as they found their searches fruitless.

"I think there are some over here honey." Ka-Chan tried to point them in the right direction. They wouldn't find any decent ones in that pile but Ryuto had found a book he was engrossed in and it had pictures.

"Look, I found Gachapin's grandpa!" He showed the picture to the two adult women since the twins and his aunt were on the other side of the shelf. He turned it back excitedly to read the small text. "His name is Stegosaurus."

"Hey he got it on the first try. That's pretty smart."

"…Mama, how do you pronounce this?" The child turned some pages and turned it to her.

"Hm? Oh." She looked at it for a moment. "That's, uh, E-U…Euster, uh, stre…Eustre-ep-toe-spoon-Dee? Uh, I don't know sweetheart maybe you should ask your Papa when we meet later."

"Ryouko-Chan? What's wrong? You're having trouble reading?"

"Look at this thing Kuji-Chan. The name is long enough to jump rope with." She moved out of the way for her.

"Right, like that's the first name to-." She set her eyes on the larger text. "Holy Poseidon! That's not a name that's an incantation!" She took the book from the boy gently and tried to sound it out. "Eu-You? Eus-trip…" She handed the boy the book after closing it. "Forget about that one Ryuto-Kun, it doesn't exist. Nothing with a name that complicated is real." Only one satisfied customer left in the group as Ryuto slipped his new book in his bag.

"Hey, Kuji-Chan?" Ka-Chan whispered to her sister. "You don't mind if we leave them with you while we get the presents do you?"

"Of course not. You know how much I love hanging around them." She waved them off as they ran to one of the toy stores after handing them her keys. She immediately turned the children once they were out of earshot. She had a plan to distract the kids from any questions of their Mothers' whereabouts. "How about we get a little something at the candy store?"

"Yeah! I want some chocolate please Auntie Kuji." Ryuto smiled wide.

"But mom said we can't have anything until lunch…" Klay interjected before his little cousin got too excited.

"Aw, c'mon bro."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Besides, you don't have to eat it right away. You can save it for later like you always do." Another thirty minutes passed until the two mothers left the store and to drop off the wrapped packages in the trunk. It didn't take long after that before they managed to guess where their children and sister went.

"Kuji-Chan…" Ka-Chan shook her head. "Between you and Rye my kids are going to be spoiled rotten." She didn't make any indication she would the sweets away figuring they behaved enough to get a little something extra.

"Oh it's fine to treat them a little on vacation. It's good for them." She sounded a like Rye at that moment.

"That's…True, I guess."

"Ryuto-Kun how many candy bars did you eat?"

"Just one Mama, I promise! I ate it so neatly too!"

"Well, yes, you've been a good boy sweetie." She pulled out a tissue and wiped the tiny bit on the corner of his mouth. When she was done she stood up and looked at her watch. "Still an hour left time to get the men's gifts before lunch."

"That's what happens when you're efficient. We'll have all the shopping done in the first half of the day."

"I thought Hoteiosho got the presents."

"He just gets presents for you kids." Once again Holiday naivety is preserved.

**Author's NOTE...Again**

**If you have a great idea for a story and you like my writing style and/or are too lazy to write yourself? If it sounds similar to one of my ideas or sounds good enough I might take it for a spin, but it has to apply to my taste. That means it will have to include characters I like and I don't write too openly raunchy stuff. I only listen to it in Japanese lyrics. 6w6**


	14. Growing Family

**WARNING**

**This chapter may seem a bit lame at the end. I like to apologize ahead of time for this and another two. Thank you and I will try not to do this again in the future... TRY. QwQ**

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 14

Thick heavy clouds hung over the sky and spilled snow at a fast and steady rate. Two men drove along a white blanketed road. The vehicle was slightly weighed down by a healthy tree.

"It's really pouring out there." Rye spoke for the first time since his twentieth joke about pine trees and Matsu and was passive aggressively forbidden from any further cracks. "It hasn't snowed this much since four years ago and two years before that."

"Their first Christmases." Matsu smiled to himself. "It'll be like this until New Year's and a full bloom of Cherry Blossoms in the spring. I'd have to wonder why it's happening now though." He looked up at the sky for a moment before turning into the driveway next to Kuji's. They got out and got the tree and took it into the house. It was simple to set up once they dressed midway into proper indoor attire since the stand was ready. It was a little late in the season than usual but now all it needed was decorating.

"Just in time. You didn't run into any trouble, did you?" Ka-Chan walked into the living room through the door connecting to the kitchen. She kissed her husband on the cheek before he answered.

"No, we didn't have any problems." She looked over to her brother with a skeptical for him to concur only for him to assure her everything went well. He then slipped into the kitchen as they talked.

"Alright lunch is ready for you hard working men. I still have a cake to finish making."

"You need a little rest missy. You always do too much."

The dining room was on the other side of the kitchen. Bowls and plates clanked together as the children helped make the final touches. As was the norm he opened and closed the door so quietly no one noticed he was there for the first few seconds. This fact use to lead to accidental scares and Kuji sometimes yelling at him if she was the victim but not so much anymore.

"Hi Papa!" The littlest hopped up from his seat and ran to him. Matsu kneeled to his level just as he stopped. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course Gacha…" He was a tiny bit hesitant until he saw Ryuto pull out his book.

"Can you pronounce this? Mama said you might be able to even if Auntie says it's not real." He flipped to the proper page and showed it to him.

He looked at it for a second taking the book in his hands. "Eustreptospondylus."

"Thanks-."

"How did you get that? No way!" Kuji took the book and looked at the name. "There's no way you could have gotten that on the first try. You must have researched it beforehand…"

"Um. Oneesan?" He rose to full height as he pointed at a colored bar on the page. "They tell you how to pronounce it right there, like in a dictionary."

"Oh, I didn't see that." Ryuto stood on his tippy toes as he tried to see around his aunt. Kuji only glared at her brother for a moment before handing the book back so he could put it away.

It was all normal for this time year. They sat down to a nice lunch and continued to chat amongst themselves. The adults caught up on what had changed since their last visit and the children talked about different stuff as well as what changed. Things were a bit chattier as they moved to the living room for some of those crafty traditions. Then in the midst of their ornament making there was a ringing of the cheery doorbell.

"I hope that's not Maki-San." Kuji frowned.

"She just wants to see you're having a Merry Holiday, but if it is to say you're not here." Matsu got up from his spot next to Ryuto and headed for the door.

"Thanks." He nodded with his smile as left into the hall.

"Hello?" He asked as he opened the door. "Doctor Maya?" The doctor smiled back at him as he moved for her to come in and warm up.

"I won't be long." She looked into the hall to see the living room with the only door closed in the hall beyond the open double doors. "Is your wife here? There's something I want to ask of you."

"Sure, hold on." He left for a brief moment into the living room leaving the doors open so that she could feel some of the heat as she stubbornly stood in the snow.

"Hello Dr. Maya, why don't you join us? We have plenty of room." Ryouko seemed concerned as she followed Matsu to the front door.

"I'm fine, but there is something you can do for me… I know it's a lot to ask but-." She looked at her car. "Can I show you?"

"Go on we don't mind." Maya nodded and waved a 'come here' motion at the car. The back door opened and a ten year old looking girl with pink poofy pigtails and starry maroon eyes walked up to them.

"This is Kane Tomo. She was… 'Born' a few months ago but we haven't been able to get any of the 'Companies' give her a home yet and we can't keep her in the lab so we were wondering if you wouldn't mind letting her stay with you." The girl looked up at them with a warm smile.

"Hi, nice to meet you both." She said with a curtsy and giggle. Matsu looked at Ryouko sympathetically for what she thought. She smiled and nodded. They turned back to the two.

"Welcome to the family Kane." Her face lit up even more with her eyes filled with joy. It was a great first Christmas and one she wouldn't forget.

**TIME**

"Ryuto-Kun! Matsu-Sama? Where are you?" Kane ran out of the house into the crunchy snow that was slowly melting from the bright robust sun. She had on a the maroon coat the doctor had got her and wore some hand-me-downs that Ka-Chan and the others managed to scrounge up until they could get her more clothing besides her only dress, stockings, and shoes she came with. It was a combination of resized items and today it was a Kuji sleeved blue coat, Ryouko's black vest, purple undershirt, purple ribbon in her hair, and a pair of Ka-Chan's tan shorts. She found the two males under a tree, well, Matsu was sleeping under the tree and Ryuto was amongst its branches.

"Hey Kane-Chan, come up here." Under his coat was a purple and yellow stripped shirt with green cargo pants and his paperboy hat on his head.

"Ryuto-Kun?" She giggled to herself. "Is that the only thing you do when you go outside?"

"No sometimes I-ah!" The boy slipped as he tried to adjust himself and fell. Kane gasped running up to reach him once he hit the ground but he managed to miss most of the branches and finally landed on Matsu. His eyes shot open and looked down at the little boy rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you Okay Gacha?" He asked as the boy leaned against him. He could tell the child was tearing up a tiny bit.

"I'm Ok." He said in his cheery tone. He groaned as his father checked his head over anyway to look for any signs of damage.

"Do you need help Matsu-Sama?"

"I've got him but thanks any way Kane-Chan." He stood up with Ryuto and walked inside the house as pink haired girl followed.

"Sakura?" Ryouko walked into the living room turned to the back door as they took their shoes off. She had on a mid-shin green dress with one of those attached white aprons with the apron strings tied in a large bow in the back and three vertical yellow buttons on the chest. "I was about to go out there and you come back in."

"I thought we were going out today." Kane's hopes fell like a rock until she got her reply.

"We're leaving in an hour." She said with a laugh and smile. "Don't worry we won't forget." An hour later Kane was looking out at the buildings and people pass by through the car window. She could hardly contain the excitement that danced inside of her as her eyes soaked up every moment.

"Look at all the people! I've never seen so many at once!" She smiled wide as she saw someone walking a dog. "Ohh, A puppy!" She was still grinning and all around as they stopped at the garage.

"Kane-Chan really seems excited…" Ryuto spoke as his older female doppelganger adjusted his scarf again. "She's so happy just being here…"

"This is her first time in the city. You probably don't remember how excited you were since you were still a baby your first time in the big city."

"Um, Matsu-Sama, Ryouko-Chan?" Kane stopped in a moment of her excitement and turned to the two adults. "Can we visit Kuji-Chan on the way back? Since she lives nearby?"

"Mm, Kane-Chan we could try but she probably won't be back from work before we leave."

"That's OK. I just wanted to drop something off." She patted on her coat pocket. Ryuto tilted his head as he contemplated what it could be. He didn't bother asking since it always leads to a light scolding when he tried to pry in other people's personal business.

The first stop was the clothing store. She was allowed to get seven days' worth of clothes and one winter pair of shoes until spring rolled around. She ran excitedly into the girl's section and even ran around in the men's section so she could see all the interesting clothes and people walking about. She took so long people watching Ryouko had pick out some clothes for her as the other two tried to keep an eye on her every time she ran off again.

"She's worse than me huh, Papa?" Ryuto said with a giggle as he crawled from under a circular rack of skull printed Ts.

"I dunno, about that..." He picked up the boy as the thought slinked over him as they were finished spying and clothes shopping.

"Wow, I can't wait to try this one on!" She said as she looked in one of the bags.

"I just hope it's in your size…" Ryouko frowned. She was having flashbacks of when she had to chase her son around the store and she didn't have Matsu to help her back then. He was working a more demanding job back then.

The next stop was much simpler. They were getting things to decorate her room and she was much more cooperative since most shoppers were someplace else. She picked out her sheets, pillow cases, and blankets. Oddly enough she wanted the comforter, curtains, and pillows to be light purple even though her favorite color was pink and maroon. She thanked them multiple times throughout he trip like she did the first night and soon they were done. The final thing purchased there being a stuffed rabbit that would be the second edition of her extensive stuffed animal collection. The first being a stuffed T-rex Ryuto had given her for Christmas. It was originally his but it's the thought that counts and it was pink for some reason so that all worked out.

"Thank you so much! She's so soft!" She felt the soft brown synthetic fur as they loaded the car up with softness and color filled bags. "She's almost as soft as Matsu-Sama and Ryuto-Kun's hair."

"I'm glad you like her but I can't help but wonder if we're forgetting something." A low growl emitted just as they stopped to contemplate followed by another smaller one.

"Um, Sorry?" Matsu held his stomach as it made its emptiness known.

"I'm hungry too…" The second smaller male frowned as his harmonized with the other one.

"Mm hm. I guess after we put this in the car lunch it is. What do you feel like K-Kane? Where'd she go?"

A thin silky ribbon flew through the air as if taunting the girl trying to retrieve it with her free hand. Her pink hair was completely undone and fluttered in the wind as she ran after the piece of cloth. The cold chill touched softly upon her red cheeks. It was difficult to believe this child was purely synthetic as her breath came out in puffs of quickly dissipating fog. She came to a full stop when a fancy-suited man snatched the material out of the air and looked at her with a grin.

"Thank-." She went to reach for it but the man pulled it out of her grasp and tried to snatch her arm. She pulled back and turned to run only to slip on some stubborn ice. She held in her breath as a cry of pain climbed up her throat. She cursed the scientists that thought it was a good idea to give her pain receptors.

"C'mon precious, I'll take care of you."

"No, I'm fine, please go away." She tried to get up but her foot wasn't cooperating. The man grabbed her arm as she tried to struggle. "Please stop you're starting to hurt me!" She was begging to wish she built more like Android 18 and less like Sana Kurata.

"Don't be so rude, I only want to-."

"How 'bout you buzz off pal? She says she doesn't need your help." A young man came out from the shadows. He had his black fingerless gloved hands in his jean pockets and wore a jean jacket, a black T-shirt, tan work boots, a red bandana on his head, and red rimmed sunglasses that completely concealed his eyes.

"Take off punk. This isn't any of your business." The man hissed.

"Oh yeah?" The mystery teen raised a pink brow as he sized the man up. His teeth were more like fangs as his mouth hung open for a brief moment. "Bet ya feel like a real man picking on a nine year old, and ya call me a punk?" He moved closer to them and took his hands out of his pockets.

"You urchin!" He let his grip on her go. "Get out of here you brat, back to the rock you crawled from!" He spat.

"Hm, funny, I was gonna say the same about you, only without all the melodrama." He frowned deeply as he raised a tightly clenched fist at the man. "Make tracks, or I'll make it so you can't anymore pal." The man didn't say anything as looked at the boy and bolted out of the building, dropping the thin cloth on his way.

"Thank you." Kane held her ankle as she watched the teen pick up the ribbon and kneel to her level.

"Don't worry 'bout that. Can you walk?"

"My ankle…" She shook her head. She lifted her hands from it. "It hurts."

"Probably just a sprain. Are your parents nearby?" He took the ribbon and with her permission wrapped it around the wounded area as tightly as possible. His glasses slid down his nose as he leaned over. She noticed his pure red irises were similar to Matsu's. "Sorry, but you gotta compress it." He explained as she winced.

"Thanks again mister."

"You don't have ta call me that. I'm no mister and I don't deserve your thanks neither." He pulled his glasses back up once he noticed he was looking at his eyes. "Anybody with working brain would of done the same thing, I'm not special." He rose back to his feet and looked around. Kane watched him in awe for a few moments but her attention was dragged away by shouting.

"Kane? Kane! Where are you?" The family quadruple looked about franticly for their missing fourth member.

"I'm over here!" She waved for them. They bolted to her once Matsu pointed her out.

"Are you alright honey?" Ryouko and Matsu kneeled once they reached her.

"I am thanks to-." She turned and her smile vanished as the mystery teen had vanished, back into the shadows. "Um, he was here. He even tied up my hurt ankle…I, wish I knew who he was."


	15. Choosing Battles

**Shh. It'll be over soon. e_e**

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 15

"Let's see…" Kuji looked at the rows of cookies set upon the store shelves. She picked up her usual brand and quickly checked out to begin her walk home. She looked at her watch. "Hm, four? I thought it was much later than that…" She walked by an alley when she heard someone shout something unflattering as they made a ruckus.

"Next time keep to yourself! You-." She stopped and took a peak to see an assembly of men kicking at trash cans. They seemed to have fresh and even bleeding wounds. She huffed and took her cell from her bag.

"You kids beat it! I'm calling the cops right now!" She spat with the cell up to her ear. Her phone was dead but they didn't know that. The group looks up at her and ran the other direction, deciding their job was done. She was about to turn away when she saw a boot sticking out from the trash. "What the Halibut?"

**TIME**

"I hope the police manage to catch that man. It's been a week already." Ryouko looked out at the starry sky as she passed another plate from the washer to the girl who was drying them.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off like that…" She handed the dried dish to Gacha sitting on the counter so he could put the plate in a cupboard that Matsu had to move and put it in its proper place in that cupboard.

"It's alright, but you have to understand that's why you can't run off. The world is filled with bad people." Matsu spoke from experience when he said that. "But that also means there are tons of good people too. You just have to learn which is which."

"I know…" She sighed. She didn't want to feel useless the next time she met up with a bad person. Recently she had thought about taking up karate, at least that's what Ryuto said she should do and he even showed her some moves he learned. He was pretty good at it too and he didn't even take any lessons above watching one movie on TV although it was mostly kicks and punches so...

"I think that show you like is coming on tonight." Ryuto tried to change the subject after noticing how sad she looked.

"It is? What time is it?" Her eyes widened as she glanced at the clock. "Ah, it's starting now?"

"Go on and watch it, we'll finish up here." They smiled as the girl ran off to watch her run off to the living room. They continued the rest of the work in relative silence as Ryuto took Kane's place.

"The sky is so clear tonight, and it's a full moon too."

"Papa, is it true there's a man up there on the moon?"

"No, they say that because the craters on the moon looks like the face of a man if you look at it real close. Of course man did eventually get up there temporarily."

"Oh, yeah. There's a kid at school that says they made that up." He handed another cup over. "I don't believe him. He also said brain slugs took over the prime minister's mind and that he saw a frog planting flower seeds last summer." The parents looked at each other at a brief moment until Kane opened the door with the house phone.

"It's Kuji-Chan. She said it's serious." She handed the phone over to Matsu and after he briefly spoke to his sister they were in the car on the way to the city.

**TIME**

"Ah, good, you came fast." She said as she opened the door.

"You said it was urgent." They rushed in and looked for any injuries on her. "Are you alright?"

"Me? I'm fine. He's the one who needs help." She motioned to a door way at the end of the living room they stood in.

"He?" Ryouko turned to the kids. "Stay in this room, alright?" The children nodded signaling the adults to move into the back room.

"I would have called the ambulance but I had to charge my phone and I didn't want to chance those men coming back to finish him." She spoke in the guest room where an occupied bed matt was centered in the middle of the floor.

"Who put those bandages on him?" Matsu kneeled down next to the patient that had pink hair that mostly covered the wrappings on the forehead.

"I did! Ka-Chan didn't just teach me how to bake you know."

"What happened?" Ryouko noticed the newly cleaned personal effects folded and piled next to him except the shoes that were next to hers at the front door. He was dressed in a set of PJ's that were left over from the time her brother's family had to stay over a couple years back. "You said something about a group of men?"

"Several of them but they looked injured too so I guess he put up a good fight before they got the better of him. I'm not sure but I think I heard one of them. He was warning him to keep to himself."

"Oh, no." They looked up at the door way Kane was standing in. Her eyes were tearing up. "He must have got hurt because of me…" She felt a huge weight fall on her. "Is he going to be OK? It's all my fault…" She felt like she was about to sob.

"Don't be dumb girl. You're too smart to blame yourself like that." The teen rose up slightly with his eyes closed the whole way as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I helped you outta my own free will so unless you somehow managed ta hypnotize me when I wasn't lookin' it's not your fault."

"That's blunt." Kuji eyed him angrily. "You should be a little more polite to her young man."

"Hm." He looked at her briefly before putting on his glasses but as he tried to get up more his torso shot up with a severe pain. "You think she'd believe me if I sugar coated it? Sorry but sometimes it's best to be blunt."

The older male took off his glasses to clean them. "I think he means well Onee-." Matsu looked at the boy and noticed his shocked expression even though the red rimmed shades before it was shaken off. He chose not to bring it up. "It's good to see your conscious since you took a bad blow to the head."

"Why the- Why am I not wearing a shirt?" He looked up at Kuji skeptically.

"He doesn't wear tops blame him."

"Uh, huh right." He tried to get up again, pressing through the pain this time until he was in sitting position.

"What are you doing? Get back down and rest!" She was about to start pushing him back down if he kept disobeying…Yeah, there's a reason she never went into medical care.

"I appreciate the help Ma'am, but I gotta get going." He said sternly. He got his clothes and forced himself to stand up. He almost fell over as he got to the door way.

"This is ridiculous! What could be so important?" She watched him walk over to the closest room with the living room wall as his crutch with her question unanswered.

"I can't stop now. I have to leave." He stopped once the older man tried to hold him up as he nearly collapsed.

"Please, you have to rest. Nothing is more significant than your life!" He pleaded.

"It is more significant! There's nothin' more important than finding Lu!" He snapped and tried to move again but his body gave up completely. Matsu and Kuji grabbed him mid-fall and rested him on the nearest couch. He sat there conscious again as he waited patiently looking about nervously as the others tried to think of a way to stop him.

"Since you have time to wait, how about you explain why you're in such a hurry." The sleepy-eyed girl said politely. "It must be important if you're willing to risk your life just to get out there again." She wasn't expecting much out of him but he sighed heavily and spoke.

"It is important…I'm looking for someone…" He seemed to have sadness in his voice as his memories guided his words. "Been looking for a long time…Years I've come so close here…I know he's here." He hung his head. "I can't help but feel like this is my only chance."

"Who?"

"…My brother." His attention peaked up once he heard the door behind him open but he didn't try to escape or even get up this time. He knew it was better to rest a little first. "I guess I'm staying the night huh?"

"As long as you need to heal." He laughed at their blind kindness.

"I should at least you my name then…How 'bout we start over?" He stood up and held out his hand to them. He actually tried to smile as he greeted them but it looked unintentionally like a hungry sneer. "I'm Roy, thanks for your help."


	16. Consoling Concerns

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 16

The numb and relentless cold couldn't be steeled beyond the clutch of winter as the spring moon dominated the sky with the stars surrounding it like twinkling admirers. Ryuto sat up in his bed with Gachapin on one side and a red bear in a bowtie lay on the other side. Matsu walked in and sat on the edge of it the boy was still staring out the window. He looked at the boy with a smile as he spoke.

"Water or milk?" He became concerned when the child looked back up at him. "What's wrong Gacha? Is you tummy upset?"

"…Papa, do you ever get…Scared?" He rubbed his wrist as he spoke.

"Yes, plenty of times." He saw the boys eyes water a little. He took his son and gently held him in his lap like when he used to get nightmares during storms. "Is there something you want to talk about?" He whispered to him.

"Do you ever get scared and not know why?" The child didn't look up at his face. He often fiddled with the older male's electronic coat sleeve but since he was dressed for bed he only fixed his eyes on that green carpet and pink walls. "Do you ever feel like something's wrong but you don't know what that is and you get scared cuz you don't know what to do to fix it?"

"Ryuto-Kun." He gently lifted the boy's head and looked into his eyes. The boy didn't resist him as he returned his sad gaze. "Son, tell me what's worrying you so much, please."

"I don't feel so good… My arms hurt but it wasn't because I punched a tree again. They really hurt." He pulled up the sleeves of his Gachapin PJ's to show his wrists had gotten scarlet red. Matsu took his gloved hands and held his small arms. He could feel the warmth coming off of the affected areas. He laughed and smiled as tears of relief threatened to bubble up.

"It's alright Gacha. That's just a little rash. You'll be fine after we get a little lotion on it." He patted the boy on his head. "There's nothing to worry about."

"A rash?" Ryuto's sleepy eyes lit up. His father seemed to think it wasn't a big deal.

"You should have told us about this sooner." He returned with a tube of medicine and bandages.

"It only started a while ago but it got better during our bath so I thought it went away. What's that for?" He pointed at the bandages.

"They're to stop you from scratching." He answered as he instructed the boy to hold out his hands. He applied the cold paste and rubbed it in. "Next time you start feeling strange just tell us, OK?" The bandages seemed to be the one thing that worked the most. Ryuto smiled as the pain subsided from the pressure applied to the top part of his wrists.

"Ok, Papa I will."

"Now get back to bed alright? We have a festival to get to tomorrow." He went up to the doorway to see Ryouko leaving Kane's room.

"Papa?"

"Yes, Gacha?"

"Can I have some Chocolate milk please?"

**TIME**

"Oh, boy! I can't wait to see the trees!" Kane and Gacha raced down the stairs after Ryouko shouted that breakfast was ready.

The pink haired girl wore a maroon pair of shorts, a pink sleeveless shirt with small cuts on each side and flower design on her shoulder, a maroon elbow length sleeved undershirt, and a maroon ribbon around her ankle opposite the green one Ryouko had on.

Ryuto had on a slightly oversized red shirt with the print of eyes and gaping mouth on it but that was mostly concealed with a green and white unbuttoned button up shirt that was his size so the red stuck out the bottom over his green and white shorts. On his head was a Gachapin baseball cap, his pack on his back, and on his feet were the same purple and yellow striped socks he always wore.

"I win! I get breakfast first!"

"Nuh uh! My pigtail touched the door frame first!" The children giggled as they fell into the dining room and kneeled in their places at the table.

"Neither of you are getting breakfast first if you didn't brush your teeth first." Ryouko looked at them to see if any of them showed signs of a perpetrator. Her green dress swishing as she walked with their plates to the table.

"I don't have to Ryouko-Chan. I have a program that enables my teeth to clean themselves but I did anyway." She grabbed up one of the items on the table and put it on the plate in front of her.

"Mama, how come I don't have self-cleaning teeth?"

"I was made differently than you. That's why." Kane playfully stuck her tongue at her shorter companion in the brief moments that both parents weren't looking.

"That's not fair." He mumbled to himself as he reached for a few things to put on his plate.

"How are your arms doing sweetheart?" His mother was told about the 'rash' moments after it had happened last night.

"It feels a lot better, since Papa put the bandages on."

"The bandages?" Matsu seemed confused but pushed the discrepancy aside. "We'll have to change them before we leave later today…"

"Are you excited to see the Cherry Blossoms for the first time?"  
"Yes, but I'm also glad I'll see Pit-Chan, Klay-Kun, and Ka-Chan today and wearing a kimono later tonight sounds great."

"Auntie-Chan, Klay-Kun, and Pit-Chan are going to be there?" The boy was caught off guard by the development but pleased at the same time. "Is Uncle Rye gonna be there too?"

"No, honey, he has an important meeting in another country." The two children gave her a skeptical look. They couldn't believe he had to work that day. "We're leaving early this year, so as soon as all of us are finished cleaning up we're getting ready."

"Is Kuji-Chan coming with us too?"

"Mm, m." Ryuto shook his head since his mouth was full of fish. He tried to explain but his mother shot him a look that resembled Ka-Chan's.

"She likes to spend this day to herself." It was all she said. In all honesty it was the day Kuji liked to go to the graves of their mother and father so she could be there by herself and speak with them. At New Year's they would all go as a family but she found it was easier to have personal time with them too and this was her day.

A half hour later the sun shined proudly as the dew on the fresh blades of grass was slowly vaporizing and crunched under Ryouko's green flats as she ran after her son and 'adopted' daughter. "I got-cha!" The two cried with laughter as she wrapped her arms around them. "Now get in the car trouble makers!" She said as she tickled them. Kane managed to pick herself up after they spent a few moments lying on the grass.

"Hm? What are you two doing?" Matsu walked out with a basket as Ryuto tried to make a grass angel. He got up and brushed himself off.

"Nothing. Can I carry the basket? Please?" He ran up to him and followed down the path.

"You can carry it to the car, OK?" He was uneasy as he handed the container over but the child handled it surprisingly well as he easily shifted his weight to handle it. "You got it?"

"Yeah." He started to run over to the car until the one behind him told him to be careful. "Sorry." He said as he leaned over to pick up the melon that fell out onto the ground. Ryouko helped him put the basket in the back. One chatty drive later they were walking into the park that was painted a stunning quantity of pink.

"Wow." Kane lit up with a wondrous mix of excitement, joy, and awe. She held out her hands as one of the petals fell. The soft, fragile object landed gently in her palm. She clasped her hands together to keep it in her grasp. She stayed like that for a while until her 'brother' noticed.

"Here Kane-Chan." He pulled out the Dinosaur book from his bag and opened it for her. "Papa says the best way to save flowers is to put them in books and wait until they're pressed down." She put the petal between the pages before he quickly closed it as the wind picked up a little.

"Thanks, Ryuto-Kun. That means a lot to me."

"You don't have to thank me Kane-Chan. That's what brothers are for."


	17. Asking Trouble

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 17

"That's not a good idea…" Klay looked worriedly as his sister eyed an old solitary theatre on the street across from the park. "I know what you're thinking and Mom's not gonna like that at all." He rung his white T-shirt nervously, a disagreeable habit he's had for quite some time mostly because most of sister's 'adventures' involved the stream that was not far from their house. He also wore a blue coat with the un-sewed sleeve rolled up his elbow, sandals, black jeans with tears on the knees that had been stitched up mutable times, and a fresh band aid on his cheek.

"Ah, you're no fun!" Pit crossed her arms and pouted slightly in an attempt to sway her brother. After a few moments she gave up and returned her eyes to the building. She wore a sleeveless loose white shirt that was long enough to stretch to her knees if she pulled on the thin but concealing fabric and over it was a black short sleeved shirt with three flat fat white buttons that only covered her chest. The shirt almost covered her blue shorts completely. At the moment her black slip on shoes were lying next to her as she walked on the comfy grass and her small circular sunglasses rested on the top of her head.

"You're interested in the opera house?" Their mother walked up next to them to see what held their interest. She was dressed differently than usual. She wore a sun hat with a pink ribbon tied on it, dark brown almost black shoes, a white dress that also had a pink ribbon, and a pair of wide sunglasses.

"It's a shame to think it could have been something if it weren't for that-Um I think I see a nice spot there." She caught herself too late. The children swarmed her with questions as their eyes widened.

"What?! What happened? Please Mom? Please?" More accurately Pit begged Klay just looked at the building. It had once been a proud and elegant but now most of the color had faded and it looked a little pathetic.

"Murder!?" Pit managed to get something out of her and let the idea sink in. "Wow, I bet he still haunts the place looking for the culprit."

"I don't know why I always do this… You're too much like your aunt Ku-."

"Ah! It, it looked back at me!" Klay recoiled as whatever peaked at him disappeared into the opening created by one of the doors being snapped in half.

"Alright that's enough there are no ghosts in there." Ka-Chan shook her head at Pit.

"Ka-Chan! Over here!" Ryouko and the others ran to catch up to the other three.

"Whatcha lookin' at Klay-Kun?" Ryuto stopped just as he came next to his cousin.

"The haunted Opera place." Pit answered nonchalantly.

"It's not haunted!"

"It isn't?" Kane tilted her head as she looked at it. "Didn't Ryouko-Chan once say that an eerie music comes out of there at midnight?"

"Whoah, Seriously? Is that true Aunt Gacha?"

"Um, well that's what I heard anyway…" She shrugged at Ka-Chan who only shook her head.

"I swear it was looking straight at me…It looked like it was as tall as Uncle Matsu." Klay whispered to his cousins as he walked behind his mother to the spot they picked out.

"It was probably just a matter of perspective that made think it was." Kane tried to calm him from his spooked nerves. "A trick of the light or something."

"I know what I saw Kane-Chan. It had a pale face and hands with millions of horns and evil eyes and was really creepy. I think it was snarling at me with its hideous fangs…" He shuddered at the thought.

"That sounds like and Oni or a vampire." Pit was a bit jealous she hadn't seen it.

"Vampires don't have horns."

"The really old ones do Gacha." They continued their conversation as they sat down below the welcoming trees. "He probably moved here after he was hunted down by vampire hunters."

"Looks like their setting the booths up a little early this year." Matsu looked down from the hill down at the path below. "They have some new ones too I think." Most of them were covered up so he couldn't tell for sure. He set the basket Ryouko filled down next to Ka-Chan's.

"What did your Mama pack?" The little sleepy eyed boy asked both of the twins, but since Pit's attention was still stuck on the Theater Klay spoke up.

"I think she made some éclairs among other things."

"I'll trade some Kit-Kats for one. Mama put four in there."

"I think she put that much in there so Klay and Pit can have one too." Kane laughed as Ryuto counted the candy bars to make sure.

"No extra?" The boy looked a bit disappointed.

"We'll see. After you eat lunch." His mother petted his soft hair. "Don't forget there's going to be lots of sweets at the festival."

**Time**

"Is it hard to tie it like that?" Kane looked at Pit's purple flower printed blue Kimono with the red obi, purple obijime, and purple obiage. "Is it comfortable?"

"Mom is a master at this sort of thing so you shouldn't worry." She said as she twirled around. She had to lean against the light pink walls as she made herself dizzy. "It's awesome."

"Why thank you Pit-dear." The woman in question came back from her short trip with more clothing draped over her arm. She still had on the same sunhat she had on before with her pale green kimono with orange flowers, light yellow obi, light blue obiage, and orange Obijime. "Are you ready to try it on Kane-Chan?"

She nodded, not sure why she felt so nervous all of a sudden. "I want to."

"Did you check in on the boys?" Ryouko asked. She was already in her Kimono pink with Yellow flowers, purple obi, green obijime, and green obiage.

"No, I'm sure Matsu can handle Gacha and Klay."

"Oh, of course. It's just…Well he has gotten better at tying that knot, better than me anyway…"

"He has trouble with the knot?" She looked at her sister in law with disbelief. "Did he forget how to do it?"

"Oh, he can still tie his own. He has problems with tying someone else's, especially if it's attached to a squirming little boy."

"Right. I never really had that kind with Klay… Pit on the other hand."

"Huh?" The previously mentioned girl looked up from her phone at her mother. "I wasn't as bad as Gacha was I?"

"You were close enough."

"She was? She always seemed well behaved here." Ryouko thought back to the earlier years. "Well, until Gacha was born. Remember the time she colored the baby with markers or when she got the boys to put on dresses?" She giggles now but she was quite concerned when had to clean the markers off.

"Don't remind me." She shook her head disapprovingly as her daughter laughed.

"I did?" She finally contained her reaction. "I don't remember any of it."

"There, you're done." Ka-Chan stood up from Kane to get a good look at her work. "Want to see how it looks?" The girl turned to the mirror and felt a wave of delight wash over her. Her pink kimono had maroon flowers, maroon obijime, light purple obi, and white obiage.

"I love it!" She cried and hugged Ka-Chan before darting off and hugging Ryouko. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome honey."

**Mean while**

"Alright Gacha, you're done." The little boy crawled across his parents' bed and sat at the edge as Matsu started tying Klay's. His Yukata was green with purple obi and cranes on it like Matsu's red one with the orange obi. They were the ones they usually wore. Klay choose to have a plain blue Yukata with white obi. Ryuto still had his green cap with the eyes of a sleepy dinosaur on it only the brim was backwards now so part of his bangs stuck out from the hole as well as under it.

"Uncle Matsu? Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything. You don't have to ask."

"Ok… Do you know anything about ghosts? Do you think they're real?"

"Yes, I do." Klay was surprised by his lack of hesitation and contemplated why he would be so certain. He finally asked another question.

"Aren't you scared of them?" He revolved his head as far as he could so he could see him.

"No, not entirely. Not all ghosts are mean spirited. Some are like guardian angels."

"What about Demons?"

"Demons? I guess they're the same."

This time Ryuto asked. "What about the one in that theater?"

"The Opera House facing the park? I don't think you'd have to worry about that." He finished off the knot and straightened himself up. "Spirits aren't known to do much to the living. That's why people don't think they exist." He made a double take of the two knots before deciding it was fine. There was a knock on the door.

"Is everyone ready?" A muffled female voice asked with a great amount of uneasiness.

"I'm done Mama!" The boy could hardly contain his excitement in his response. The woman opened the door with one hand and had Ryuto's bag in the other.

"I put Kane's flowers in a book for her after I put yours up." She handed it to him as he ran up to get it.

"Thankies Mama." He put his bag on and followed the others out the door. By the time they had returned to the park the sun was moments away from its journey to darkness. Lanterns lit the way on a dirt path to rows of booths and stands.

"You have your wallet with you right, Gacha?" Matsu asked as they got close enough to see the lit up booths.

"Yes, Papa I have it." He said with a sigh and patted his backpack. Pit suddenly gasped as she realized something.

"Um, mom?"

"Don't worry dear. I grabbed yours on the way out." Ka-Chan took the small money container out of her purse and handed it to her daughter.

"You're a lifesaver mom."

"Just don't forget it next time." The first thing they did was play a few games since most of the food booths were extremely crowded. It was one with crisscrossing strings attached to boxes with prizes in them.

"Hey Klay, you're usually good at this one. Which one should I pull?" His sister asked as she tried to trace which lead where and if they were duds or not.

"Mm. Let's see." He thought for a moment, not bothering to trace the strings like her but instead let his luck tell him which was the best choice. "That one's got something…I think." He pointed to one near the middle. "I'm pretty sure."

"This one?" She lifted the string up after paying the guy. She tugged on it when he nodded making it taunt and with a satisfying swoosh pulled a bow away from the table. "What is it?" She leaned over the booth eagerly.

"Here you go little lady." He picked up the fuzzy stuffed dog and handed it to her. "Congradulations."

"Aw, he's so cute!" Kane ogled over the plushie.

"You like? You can have it. I'm not a big fan of stuffed animals." She handed it to her as they walked to the next one.

"Oh, thank you! This is the best festival ever!" She hugged the animal tightly.

"This whole family is in love with stuffed animals…" Pit shook her head. "At least Ryuto-Kun doesn't drag that chameleon around everywhere anymore. Now he just keeps him tucked in that bag."

"Gachapin's a dinosaur, not a lizard." He looked back at her with a frown as he defended his toy. It only made her giggle at how strongly he felt about it. They played another game, this time it was a game one would throw darts at balloons to win. Ryuto won a couple of inflatable swords. He and Klay played sword fighting as they ran down the path.

"Watch out for pedestrians, please!" Ryouko and Ka-Chan quickly followed as Matsu started to collect some of the food they wanted.

"Hey, ya nearly knocked the wind right outta me!" Klay fell to the ground after he bumped into someone.

"I-I'm sorry." He looked up the see a hand with a black fingerless glove offer to pull him up. "Um, Mister…"

"Oh, hi Roy-San!" The male twin's play mate waved at the teen. "This is my cousin Klay-Kun."

"Y-You know him?"

"Yeah, he helped Kane-Chan once. He's really nice." He looked up at the pink haired boy with red-rimmed sunglasses. "What are you doing here? Did you find your brother yet?" He shook his head.

"Nah, Lu never was easy to find when he didn't want ya to." He looked at the trees that stretched out past the crowds. "But I'll find him. I just have to think like him." He laughed to himself. "Hm. Maybe that's the real reason, so I'd see things his way…" He then disappeared into the mass of people.

The park was quite crowded once they started looking for a spot to sit. They settled on a spot at the edge of the trees close to the street.

"It's that old building again."

"Why are you so interested in it Pit-Chan?" Kane looked up from her ice cream.

"Klay-Kun saw a something in there. I want to see it too." She didn't take her eyes off of it for a moment as she bit into her fried ball of sea animal.

"Mama, do you think Gachapin likes bananas?" The boy picked up another piece of fruit and started peeling after eating a couple of strawberries and some grapes.

"Probably, they are good for-." A sudden snapping sound caught their attention and their heads turned to the source. All three of the adults quickly jumped into action when they saw the people pinned down by a tree branch. All the words that were spoken in that brief moment was 'stay here' before they rushed to help the couple.

"Ryuto, what are you doing?" Klay grabbed onto his younger cousin's sleeve. "We're supposed to stay here."

"I wanna help." He whined as he looked back at him.

"They've got it under control Gacha! Besides, this gives us a great opportunity."

"What do you mean Pit-Chan?" Kane asked innocently.

"We probably have enough time to check out that theater before they get back."

"I am not going in there!" The orange haired boy let go of the sleeve and shook his head. "No way! I don't care what you say!"

"I want to go. Papa says he might be a friendly demon."

"Really?" Kane perked up at the prospect of meeting a new friend. "I want to meet him too!"

"Let's hurry!" Pit jumped up with the other two following her lead. The fourth was frozen in his spot. He watched in horror as they crossed the empty street.

"Guys! Guys wait!" He darted after them once they passed the halfway point. "Just a quick look, then we go back." He said once they reached the doors. Pit tried to pull on the door that wasn't broken but it was stuck.

"Oh never mind, we can't get in. Back to the park we go." Klay said with a strong sense of relief as he turned back to the street.

"I can fit through." The smallest of them slid through the hole and walked through. "It's really neat in here!" He treaded in deeper, his footsteps making the wood creak.

"Careful Gacha that floor might not-." Another loud snap filled the air as the floor in the middle of the room gave way and Ryuto's world went dark.

**Author's note**

**Irregular posts are irregular...**

**Sorry to keep ya hangin'. It's just so fun. eve**


	18. Being Silly

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 18

"Gacha? GACHA!" The cries seemed distant and fading until they had come to a complete stop.

Everything faded in and out as he tried to pull himself together. He started to look around in the times his vision came to he could make out many lit candles all around him. He felt a dull pain overcome him as his senses returned. He wasn't able to pick himself up, but his hearing and vision had become almost clear.

The sound of clicking heels had finally been identified and seemed to get closer by the second. He froze immediately as something cold and cloth covered felt his neck. It remained there for a moment before retreating to snake its way under his head and knees.

He looked up at the thing cradling him and was taken aback by the thing that Klay claimed to have seen, a white skinned being with strange blue horns all over his head but the eyes were kind and pure blue. He froze up again when the eyes looked down at him and he noticed the being wasn't a monster at all. The shape before him was starting to fall into place as it rested him on a comfy bed.

It was a young man with pale face and white gloves just like Matsu wore. He wore a long blue-ish grey coat and a very fancy old fashioned grey vest, red poofy thing below the neck, belt, black dress pants, and dress shoes. His 'horns' were actually wavy indigo hair parted in the middle and a dental structure similar to Ryuto only more fang-like.

The teen tilted his head at the boy's seemingly alert eyes. "Are you avake? Do you understand me?" He spoke with a deep sophisticated voice.

Ryuto nodded. "Yes, I can hear you." He was finally able to pick himself up into a sitting position.

"Please, don't push yourself. It's a vonder you vern't killed from zat fall."

"I'm OK, thanks for helping me-."

"Ludwig." The teen answered him mid phrase. "Call me Ludwig." He placed his hand on his chest and bowed. "And your name?"

"Ludwig…" The boy thought aloud for a moment before he realized he was being asked to introduce himself. "Uh, that's not it. My name is Ryuto."

"Ryuto? Zat is quite a proud name to have." He crouched at the edge of the bed and examined the boy like an authorized doctor for any head or other wounds.

"Thank you. My Mama gave it to me. She says Papa gave her the idea before I was even born. What about you? I don't think I've heard a name as fancy as yours." He noticed the older boy's hesitance.

"…My…Mutter also gave me my name." He got up and got some bandages and medical cleaners for a cut he found on the boy's arm and leg. "It means 'Famous Warrior' but she gave it to me because of mein hair. It reminded her of a composer." He had a smile on, but Ryuto could tell it was one of sad reflection. He winced a little when his wounds were cleaned with a cotton puff.

In the silence that followed he took a moment to look around. In contrast to the small gathering of food and other personal effects there were many old instruments. He appeared to have fallen in the middle of a large storage room filled with the many different surrounding instruments in and out of the cases with candles placed tables, music stands, and desks that also occupied the area. In the center of the far wall among all the cases and stands was a large piano that was completely clean of dust and cobwebs in a stark contrast to the rest of the room.

"Is that yours?" He pointed with his free hand at the object behind the indigo haired man. "Do you play?"

"Ja, I do often late in ze night. I used to play more often but…" He walked up to it once he was done treating his wounds. He placed his hand on the black and white keys and took in the cold feel of the keys. He sat down on the matching black bench and out of nowhere stared to play a heartbreaking melody.

Ryuto sat in silence as the music surrounded him. He felt a desolation come over him, a pain similar to the one Ludwig had in his eyes when he spoke of his mother. The blue eyed teen was absorbed into the emotion. His body filled with energy as his fingers danced upon the keys. He moved like he was in a trance with precise and energetic motions not one of them were mistakes.

"Ludwig-San?" The music continued as he finally walked up to the bench.

"Mm hm?" He didn't even break in trance as he responded.

"Why does your music sound so sad? Is it cuz of your Mama?" The music came to abrupt stop.

"…Sadness? You are very perceptive…"

"I'm sorry, I guess I just-."

"It's alright, Ryuto." He had a slightly more genuine smile as he patted his shoulder. "You are right… My Mutter died vhen I vas fourteen…" He shook his head. He didn't want to burden the child with his miserable tale."

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your Papa? I bet he misses her too." He sat next to the teen. Another less intentional button had been pressed. A deep sigh made the boy realize why he was here and not home. He didn't want to open any more wounds so he just sat there as the teen soaked in his mixed feelings about the day he left. He tried to push away the memory and lock it away with another event, another taunting vision but it only returned twice as strong.

"I vish it vasn't like zis. It shouldn't have ended in ze vay it did…"

"Are you OK?" The indigo haired young man was snapped back from his memory with the voice of the child next to him. He had been sitting there for a few seconds as the memory danced and taunted him like a demented jester.

"Yes, I'm alright Ryuto."

"So how long have you been here?"

"Two years." He ran his hand through his hair. "I haven't seen my bruders and schwester in two years." The boy was taken aback by the sudden open self-hatred but something occurred to him.

"Two years?" He wasn't sure at first, but something told him he should pry once more. "Is one of your brothers named Roy?"

"Y-you?" He looked at the boy with a great amount of shock. He shook his head and turned back to his piano. "It appears your wounds have healed…Perhaps you should go?"

"But Ludwig-San, your brother has been looking-."

"I have a reason for ze zings I do. It is for ze best of my family, my bruders and schwester. You have a good life not to understand." He stood up and walked over to the 'table' that was next to his bed.

"They miss you!" The child tried his best to think of a way to convince the much older boy. "Don't you miss them too?"

"Hm. It doesn't matter how I feel." He said as he gathered his things. "No matter how painful I have to zink of zem first."

"Then shouldn't you be there for them?" He saw the teen's shoulders slump as he contemplated and absorbed his words.

"Gacha!" There was a faint shout of an adult that carried through the halls. It was a female's voice. A male's voice followed quickly along with hurried footsteps.

"Papa, Mama!" He looked over at the door. They sounded worried. "Please, Lu-." He looked back to see he was already gone. "Please, think about how they feel…" He spoke before the doors were broken open.

"Gacha!" He mother wrapped her arms around her and kissed his little cheek. "My sweet little Dinosaurus!" She hadn't called him that since he was three but it always seemed to come out every time she was worried out of her mind with tears streaming down her cheeks.

**Time**

"How zey feel? …" The teen stood in the park with his personal effects as he watched the family carry their little boy out of the cracked and crumbling building. "It has been a long time, maybe..."

"You'll do just fine." A woman's voice cooed coldly a short distance away. There was a static like buzzing emitting from the voice's vicinity. A voice that belong to a mind that had been festering for some time, studying copies and copies of work it strived to conquer. "I've got a lot of time to make for and so many new toys to play with."

The shadow was making the most of the break for freedom. The guards would notice the nurse tied up on their way out but by then it would be far too late. Another road block for the damaged family to reunite… Is it even possible now?

**Note**

**Don't hold your breath for that one... It'll be a few chapters... e^e**


	19. Starting Wars

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 19

Fall was only a short while away, but in the meantime the weather showed no signs of cooling off. Luckily for some involved the two vehicles are well air conditioned. Paper crackled in the back seat as Ryuto messed with the paper on Klay's present. Pit's present from him was small enough to carry in his bag in the floorboard. He was bored out of his mind trying to find something to do.

"I can't wait to try out my new swimsuit!" Kane gushed to herself with her present for both of the twins sat in the floorboard next to her pink buckle shoes. Her hands rested properly in her lap and she wore a pink sleeveless sundress with a white ribbon tied around the waist and a sun hat with pink ribbon. "I bet the ocean is so much better than a pool!"

"It is dear, you'll see." Kuji drove the car with a few things in the seat next to her.

Ryuto frowned as he looked out the window at the long stretching fields of short crop. "I guess it's OK…" He adjusts himself against his restraints as his constricted energy cried for an outlet, the box nearly falling out of his lap as he did so.

"Don't worry Gacha, it's not much longer." The crinkle of paper was what tipped her off to his restlessness. She started a half hour game of I spy before they got there.

The house was settled in atop a large hill. A fence surrounded and concealed the front and back yards. There was only one large tree smack in the middle of the sizable yard along the descent of earth with large curling twisty branches one of which was snapped off in a recent storm revealing a tear in the curtain of leaves. There were other houses around although they were a good distance apart and required yelling on the highest volume if one wanted to speak with their neighbor without leaving their yard. The house itself was a one-story settled atop the flattened peak of the hill sprawled to contain a decent amount of rooms.

Ryuto was quick to reach for the buckle that contained him but waited for Kuji to open his door before bolting out to the driveway so his parents coming out of the car behind them wouldn't scold him. The tiny rocks crunched beneath his green dress shoes. If it weren't for the white dress shirt with yellow buttons, yellow suspenders, green bow tie, and light purple suit shorts he would have dived into the soft grass in the front yard. After running in a circle he was stopped by Matsu walking up to him to put his green suit coat with the circle on the shoulder on the boy.

Matsu had on a different red suit than usual that included a coat with white sleeves and red cuffs, dress pants were red with white fold-overs at the bottom opposed to the usual brown, and an orange and yellow stripped tie. He still wore his red dress shoes and hat though.

"You're early." Ka-Chan was dressed in a pale red and light blue ankle length dress with slip-ons and sunhat. "Did you have a nice drive?"

"Oh, yes. No traffic at all today." Ryouko dusted off her loose long green skirt. She had on a black vest with a green tie the same color of the skirt tucked in between the vest and dress shirt and light purple and yellow stockings.

"Hey." Kuji was the first to walk up to her and embrace her in a hug with sleeves draping over the other woman's back. She had on a white long sleeved dress with black and blue wavy layered skirt, orange pearl earrings and necklace, orange shoes, and sunglasses holding her wavy hair back. "Long time no see."

"Good to see you too, even if it hasn't been that long." Ka-Chan smiled to herself as she patted her on the back. "Come inside so we can have some food and catch up." She said as she exited the embrace. "You can unpack later."

**Meanwhile**

"It'll solve itself, I'm sure." A man with brown hair and glasses wearing a black suit and carrying a briefcase looked uneasy as the other man finished speaking. They were walking down a long hall with others walking about them.

"With all due respect sir, that's how we had to start from scratch with the carrot." He pulled his tie so it wasn't over his shoulder. "There's another issue at hand as well."

"Hm?" He stopped at the door with his name on it and turned to the young man who nearly bumped into him. He shot him a look and guided him to the seat in front of his desk. "Well? Out with it." He demanded as he sat down with a motion of his hand.

"Um, there have been some requests…and deadlines…" He sat with his hands tapping uncomfortably on his case in his lap. "Sent from the higher-up today and it doesn't give us enough time to build from scratch..." The man's twitching only got worse as he waited for his boss's response.

"Calm down kid." He furrowed his brow in concern for the man. He leaned back in his chair and smoked a puff of his cigarette. "What exactly are the requests?"

"Well, sir, its well, a bundle." The man pushed up his glasses again and took a deep breath. He handed over three files giving the details. "They want some younger models and an adult? Um, they didn't say why particularly, but they did say they wanted another couple of children to go with that Utau we made almost a year ago coupled with a sort of role model."

"Hm? Someone in early teens with love for cats but not a Neko?" He shuffled and read through each. "She has enough time on her. I think your department can take her. Your brother will know what to do with that." He switched to the next one after throwing that one back at him.

"Oh, Adult and Child duo? I wish they had more details. They really have broad requests this time around, but just make sure your department doesn't make it creepy and we'll be good with the global marketing. They gave this one enough time for you contemplate that relationship." He threw that one at him as well, only having one left to look over.

"Mm." His cancer stick fell to a steep slant as he scanned the words. "Spoke too soon, too bad this one doesn't have too much priority. It looks like it's been way past due. There isn't even a deadline on this one. I thought you said we wouldn't have enough time?"

"You didn't read the top page sir." The man bowed his head. "They want at least one of these installed by November regardless of the individual deadlines. I'm not sure why."

"Hm…" The man in the suit looked up to see the smoker lost in a train of thought. "I could have sworn I read about a sample that…" His boss looked up at him. "November huh? That'll give us enough time. Those advertisers just like to throw in stuff like that spur of the moment but I can manage this one."

**Time**

"Thanks Ryuto." Pit placed her figure on a shelf in the middle of her swarm of porcelain animals. "Hopefully Klay won't break this one you made for me."

"That was three months ago. I said it was an accident." The orange haired boy huffed. He had already placed his gift in its proper place in his room among many other board games he liked to play when his cousins came over.

"Can we go play with your new water guns now?" Ryuto asked a bit impatiently. Neither his mother nor aunt Ka-Chan had been able to catch up to him yet so he still had cake crumbs on his cheek from seconds before.

"I don't think Ryouko-Chan would like you getting your suit wet." Kane shook her head. "You should ask her if you can change now."

"I know…" The boy half whispered, half whined.

"Gacha, Kane-dear, are you going to take in your things?" Kuji peeked into the cream colored room. "After you're done your mother says you can dress into your bathing suits."

"OK." Kane ran out the door as she hummed to herself moments before chanting 'We're going to the beach'.

"I already put my stuff in Pit's room Auntie Kuji." Ryuto raced by her to get to the room with his swimming trunks.

"Don't forget to fold you suit neatly before putting it away sweetie!" She called out Ryouko's request to witch the boy replied with a distant 'okay'.

The air was rattled with laughter and screams as a water war broke out around the house. Klay hid behind the back corner of the house as he carefully looked over to where Ryuto was at. He had on blue trunks and a blue and white plaid unbuttoned button up shirt that was partially soaked with shots from Pit but mostly his male cousin. He managed to get another shot on Kane but he wanted the big prize.

"Hey!" She giggled happily as he she bolted after him with her pink one piece with a little ballerina-like skirt and shoulder frill. Klay tried to get her again but he was out of ammo so he had no choice but to retreat her well preserved full tank. It was well preserved because she was a retaliatory that only shot when she saw the target. He was shot a good few times in the back before he reached the 'safe zone' around the hose.

"Ran out again huh?" His sister in the Shamu colored wet suit teased. She held her freshly filled weapon like a soldier in enemy territory.

"You better not be waiting for me to leave just so you can shoot me again." He glared at her as he turned on the hose.

"Relax." She waved her hand at him. He noticed that even she was soaking with water. Her orange ponytail was dripping wet. "I'm here for the big game small fry." She looked at the tree rising over the hill's edge with narrowed eyes. "He's in there." She whispered. "Like always and I'm gonna get 'em." She motioned to him to shush and go the other direction so they can both trap him. They walked down the hills on either sides and midway started walking toward the curving trunk of the tree. They held their breath as they searched the small holes in the shroud of leaves.

"I…don't see him." Klay was close enough to touch the start of the strings of green.

"Sh! He-."

"Gotcha!" A stream of cool shocking water hit the older twin on the cheek and some went up her nose. The green haired boy had followed her without either of them realizing. His green surfer shorts with the yellow and light purple cargo pockets and green goggles were completely dry. The only thing that was wet was the soles of his feet from walking in the water covered grass.

"Y-you brat!" She coughed out before chasing the water assassin. She fired a few shots but was too fast and managed to round the house to the front. She swerved around the corner with a blind shot.

"Ah!" She cringed once she realized that wasn't her cousin.

"S-Sorry Uncle Matsu." There was an apologetic look in her eye as the last one yet to have dressed for the beach wiped off his glasses. She slinked back to the side of the house before he could say it was alright. He looked back up to see she was gone shrugging it off he returned to retrieving his clothes.

"That punk's gonna get it." She growled mischievously as she leaned against the wall. She heard Kane scream and giggle on the other side of the house. "I'll catch him when he reaches the back." She ran to the edge of the house and crouched in wait.

"C'mon Gacha." She smirked as she heard Kane shout again. She could hear her maroon flip-flops splash on the grass and readied her weapon. She shot up once the pink haired girl ran to the back yard and opened fire. Her weapon's range was just shy of hitting the boy. "Ah! So close!" She fired again as she ran but only managed to hit her brother as he lay on the ground.

"Ack hey! I gave up!" He cried as he sat up. "You're not Gacha."

"You quitter." She frowned and shook her head.


	20. Splashing Treaty

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 20

"Look at you two. You look like you already went to the beach you're soaked. All that's missing is the sand." Ka-Chan teased her children as they piled into her car with beach towels covering the seats. She held onto her sunhat when a gust of wind threatened to blow it away. She wore a large loose dress that covered her black one piece with a pale coral stipe along the chest in a diagonal.

Pit only mumbled something about sneaks as she scooted to the window. Klay laughed and held his shirt in his lap in a soaked heap. Ryuto sat next to him and Kane sat in the front with Ka-Chan. She started up the vehicle as soon as the car in front of her crawled onto the street.

"Auntie-Chan? Can I have something to drink please?" Ryuto asked after watching the fifth biker go by.

"Sorry honey, the cooler is with the others."

"You can have mine. I grabbed it before they left. I only wanted a sip." Pit reached over Klay with the can in her hand.

"Thankies." He said cutely as he took a long gulp. He was happy until he realized he was hungry now. The beach was quite small but made up for that by having very little pedestrians.

"Careful, watch out for broken glass and if you see any trash throw it away please!" Ka-Chan shouted as she collected the towels to put on the sand. "We need to help keep the beaches clean." She made sure to shout that before Kuji since whenever she started on it would never end.

"Hey Klay? Let's make a huge sand castle." Pit felt her knees sink slightly into the sand as she started digging a wide hole. Her brother was quick to retrieve a bucket so they could build a proper one.

"C'mon Papa!" The four year old tugged on the adult's arm. "Let's go swimming."

"In a minute Gacha." He sat in place as he tried to eat a few cookies in his red trunks with the yellow and orange strings and his glasses placed safely away. The child decided to sit next to him and take a bit of his own once his stomach reminded him he too needed a little something. Kane sat on the other side of the man now with a floatie ring around her waist, wings around her upper arms, flippers on her feet, and the google snorkel combo resting atop her head.

"What are you wearing that stuff for Kane-Chan?" The little boy asked as he nibbled on his green chocolaty cookie.

"You can never be too careful." She replied reaching for one. "I was told pool water won't hurt me but they didn't say anything about salt water."

"We asked Dr. Maya if it was alright. She said you'll be fine." Matsu patted her on the head reassuringly. "You don't have to be scared."

"I'm not scared…But, it would be nice if you two could go in with me Matsu-Sama and Ryuto-Kun." She hid her face shamefully as she nibbled on the treat.

"Of course, whenever you're ready." Matsu smiled at her as he started to fan himself.

"O…K." She sat in silence as mulled over the idea.

"I'll do it for you Papa." The boy eagerly took the man's paper fan and used a good deal of energy to fling the thing back and forth furiously.

"That's very thoughtful of you Gacha." He shielded himself from the harsh wind blowing some sand on him. "Maybe you should turn it down just a notch."

"Um," The girl stood up, dusted herself off, and adjusted her floatie. "I think I'm ready."

"No, no! Hee, hee. Stop it!" The boy had continued with the fan so Matsu lifted the child in his arms in the midst of faux struggling and cries for help and turned to the girl.

"Are you sure?" He asked considerately. She the child nodded once he held out his free hand and held onto it. He guided her to the sea stopping when he felt the tug of her cold feet and waiting a few moments for her gather up her courage again. They had done the same ritual before when they went to the pool for the first time.

The water lapped gently in front of them beckoning their attendance with softly swishing sand. Kane had stopped for seventh time just inches away from its cool embrace. She was about to touch it with her toe when Klay stood up from gathering more water.

"Our castle's really looking great! Wanna-Ah!" He caught his foot on a large mass of seaweed and the grasp on the container slipped.

"Eeek!" Kane felt the particles of sand and water plants covered her foot but the cold chill running up her toe to her whole body made her feel like a bolt of lightning going through her. "I-I'm just going to help Ka-Chan with her Sudoku. You go on without me!" She cried as she ran up the sandy slant of land.

"Kane-Chan, wait! Don't be mad!" Klay cried after her as the heavy guilt feel upon his shoulders. He looked up to see Matsu holding out a hand to help him.

"It's not your fault Klay-Kun. She's just a little nervous, that's all."

"I wish I could help…" He said as he got more water.

"She'll come around on her own. We shouldn't push her." He watched his nephew take the newly filled bucket to the construction site before racing into the water with the boy still squirming in his arms. He threw the boy in the water once he was in to his waist.

"Where's Kane-Chan?" Ryouko suddenly rose up from the depths in her green skirted one piece with a diamond shaped hole showing her back. "I thought she was coming in with you two." Matsu jumped back with a cry. "Did she get second thoughts?"

"Y-yeah." He finally answered after catching his breath. He looked at the beach to see she quick warmed up to the idea of building some of Klay and Pit's castle after a little encouragement. "She's worried she'll short circuit, but she looks like she's having fun again." He was dragged out of deep thought as a wave of water crashed onto his face. He heard a childish giggle and saw a wake of a splash when he turned around.

"He's a sneaky one today." Ryouko laughed. She gasped when she felt a splash on her cheek.

"I think it needs more stability." Klay scooped up more wet sand for the tower when he noticed Kane looking at the rest of the family splash about in the water.

"Kane-Chan?" The girl snapped her head in his direction at breakneck speed. I mean literally, it was creepy looking enough to make Klay gasp and jump back.

"Hu-Yeah, it does need more-um."

"C'mon Kane-Chan we'll go in with you." Pit smiled at her. "It's just like the pool only with seaweed."

"…You'll." She turned back to the ocean again. "Go in with me?"

"Of course we will, right Klay?" The older twin turned to the other to him meticulously crafting what was meant to be a window. "Klay!" She growled as she nudged him.

"Ow, yeah, OK!" He started to rub his shoulder. "I'll go with you too Kane-Chan."

"That means a lot to me guys." She said as she stood up.

"No problem, let's sneak up on them." She unnecessarily tiptoed over to the edge of the swaying waterline. The other two just walked up to it, Kane holding onto Klay's hand. He silently watched as he waded into the water like Matsu had tried with her before. She seemed hesitant but after he got in ankle deep she leapt in with a delighted squeal.

"Where'd he go?" Ryouko was beginning to get a bit concerned as she looked around the clear-ish water for her son. He hadn't gone up for air for a while. "Gacha? Where are you?"

"I'm right here Mama." He seemed a bit confused as to why she was concerned. He was just swimming underwater for a while. He came up once he felt his wrists cramp up a little.

"Oh, alright." She pushed the grim feeling aside.

"Hey, Kane-Chan! You decided to join us!" Matsu smiled at the sight of his adoptive daughter kicking happily at the water.

"Can you push me a little Matsu-Sama?"

"Ah! Pit-Chan you got ME again!" The orange haired boy spat out water as he rubbed his eyes.

"That wasn't me bro." The girl had a little attitude in her tone since he just gave away her position that signaled Ryuto to dive.

"Sorry honey, I couldn't help myself." Ka-Chan shielded herself against her son's watery retaliation only for another attack wave to hit her from behind.

"You're so easy to sneak up on." Kuji smirked.

"Oh, you'll pay for that." Ka-Chan engaged in a swimming race as she tried to get a better range at the woman in the blue with a white chest area bikini.

"If you can catch me!" She teased. This massive cacophony of splashes and dives continued for the rest of the day excluding the occasional trip to shore for refreshment.

The sun was moments from settling upon the pillows of yellow, red, and orange as the cars delivered them to their destination. Matsu carried Klay up the hill as he was on the edge of slumber as Ryuto followed closely munching on some cookies. The boy had on his green with the light purple and yellow belly stripes T-shirt.

"We still have dinner to eat you know." Kane teased. "You eat too much and your tummy will split." She gently poked him on the gut.

"You're starting to sound like Pit-Chan!" He giggled like the dough boy as he ran to hide behind his father.

Crickets lead the nightly choir as a dinner serenade was loud enough to float around them through the open windows. The musical number was almost overbearing to the extent that they decided to close all the windows and turn on the AC much to Matsu's delight. Everything was mostly quiet and calm after the baths. The bed room walls and windows blocked out the roar of chirps.

"What's wrong Klay-Kun?" The boy dressed in Gachapin PJ's noticed he was taking a particularly long time to decide his turn.

"Huh?" The boy in sky blue and white PJ's looked up from the cardboard layout depicting a ship. "Oh, nothing…I just wish dad was here."

"Your Papa's been working a lot more lately huh?"

"Yeah…Ever since his promotion." He had a look in his eyes that said there was something more. "Gacha? Haven't you been on a plane once?"

"Yeah, but I was really little. I don't remember much." He lifted the red bear with the orange bowtie. "That's the day I got Aka. Mama said I could pick out a toy since I was so good."

"It wasn't bad?"

"Other than having to sit a really long time it was OK. I almost didn't get to sit with Mama, but this nice man decided to leave the row all to us. I don't remember what he said to the lady but Mama didn't seem too happy about it." He moved his piece before returning with a question. "Why do you ask? Are you going on a trip?"

"You're not telling anyone right?" His cousin made a zip motion with his fingers over his lips before he continued. "I overheard mom and dad talking a few days ago…I think we're moving overseas."

"Did they say that?" Concern filled his eyes until hope flooded in because his friend shook his head.

"No, but they were talking about the housing market." He moved his piece and picked up a card. "They were also talking about schools to move us to."

"How do you know it's across the ocean?"

"Cuz that's where he's been working so much lately."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much." Ryuto looked up at him with pure green sincere eyes. "Even if you do move we'll still visit, but I don't think Auntie-Chan or Uncle Rye would make that choice without asking you and Pit-Chan first."

"That does sound more like them." He noticed something odd about Ryuto. "Gacha… What's wrong with your wrists?"

"Huh?" He looked down to see he had been rubbing on them almost the whole time with his bear tucked in his elbow. "Oh…It's just…Another rash?" It wasn't red like before, just a dull but continuous pain concentrating in a large circle on each wrist. "It's nothing." He forced himself to stop and return to the game. Shaking and throwing the dice with hope that he'll finally reach the next part of the board. "Aw, lose a turn."

"This game's kind dragging on…You want to see what Pit-Chan and Kane-Chan are doing?"

"Yeah, I think they're watching TV." They put up their game up and left for the lively living room. Ryuto pushed the grim feeling down again, the feeling that had started while he was underwater that day a feeling that had started with his arms. He pushed it aside and returned to his happy smile.

"Everything's going to be OK." He told himself confidently. "Papa said so."


	21. Dreaming Horror

**Note!**

**My well of Pre-Written chapters has gone dry for the following reasons:**

**1. Lazy ^-^"**

**2. Drawing a lot =7=**

**_A big reason. _3. Not sure how to get from idea A to idea B **

**4. LAZY =`_=**

**5. Been going out to eat a lot lately. :I**

**_The biggest reason._ 6. Been working on other story projects... e`~ e**

**So it will be a dry spell of chapters for a while...**

**QAQ**

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 21

"This is wrong! ALL WRONG!" The doctor the off the papers that were on the table. It had been a few good years since his greatest experiment had started and it had seemed what little data he was able to gather had proved his treasure had failed him.

"I have to go back, back to the start where things worked and we-I was happ-HE-HE!" He stopped himself from a nasty cough that had taken hold for the past several months. He lurched to a bend as he struggled and his eyes met with a photograph centered in a collection of many taken from afar. "Ah-and if I can't find a suitable candidate, I'll make one."

**Meanwhile**

"C-Cold. So…"

Snow fell in small sprinkles around Matsu as he tried to find the source of the recognizable voice. "Ryouko-Chan? Ryouko!" The dark lifeless streets stretched onward. Every step he took only revealed more vacant darkness. His each breath he took was shown by a puff of white fog and his desperate cries went unanswered for the longest time. "Ryouko!"

"S-Sakura…" The voice weakly floated out of a small opening formed by a set of double doors. He threw the doors open after a little resistance and a loud crack. Shards of ice scattered among the slick, hard floor as the doors broke free of its grasp and slammed harshly onto the walls. The walls were also caked with a dense layer of crystal clear frost.

"R-Ryouko?" He looked around nervously as his dress shoes slipped a little when he took his first step over the threshold. His next steps were much sturdier as he ventured closer.

"I C-Can't-." He rushed to the end of the building, leaping over and ducking under the various ice laced bits of broken tables and bits of fallen roof.

"Ryouko-Chan!" He kneeled over her as she lay on the cold sleek floor. She looked up from a grimace as she hugged her stomach.

"I can't move." The whimper that escaped her lips was quite uncharacteristic of her. Her droopy eyes held a more devastating kind of sadness.

"It's OK. I got you." He reached out for her, placing his hand gently on her as he prepared to lift her into his arms only for her to cry out in pain.

"It, it burns!" Tears welled up in her eyes. He recoiled at her sudden outburst and saw a frozen mark on her in the shape of his palm. He looked at his hand with an expression of shock and horror. He snapped out of it when he heard her gasp for air. He pulled off his suit coat to shield his hands for a second try but he was cut off by a shard of ice falling between them. There was a terrifying succession of snaps and flying shards as more jagged pillars rose from the ground, ceiling, and walls. They rose up like a fierce flame frozen at the peak of its fury.

"No, please!" He felt his heart sink as the blasts continued with every second. "Hold on!" He pleaded with tearful eyes as he saw her agonized face distorted by the many shards. This time when he ventured closer something small had pounced onto his leg from the shadows and slithered up to and latched onto his arm. He instantly felt somehow uplifted and everything grew blurry and distant. He reached out grab something but everything was-

**GONE**

"N-No." He whimpered lightly before opening his eyes and gasping for a small bit of air. He look shot glances frantically about only to see walls decorated with photos of pink blossoming trees, ice capped mountains, and other places with the same group of people standing at the foot of each, a shelf filled with many different books, attempts at origami that seemed to improve quickly, a few figures of reptiles and mammals, a rocking chair, and on the smaller shelf topped an aquarium with a very old yet still very hungry turtle and a much younger turtle that slept most of the day away.

"Nooo." He looked down at his arm to see the source of the moan that had mimicked his words. The small child was still now more lightly snuggling up against his bare arm. One of his soft pinch-able cheeks was squished up against the man's arm with a satisfied sigh. The child's Gachapin PJ hood had fallen off his head as he adjusted himself.

"Ryuto." A smile of great relief spread across his face. A quick glance to the other side of the bed showed Kane was completing the separation between the two adults. She seemed to have reignited the boy's old habit somehow and he was grateful. Now when he went back to sleep he could have good dreams, not the suddenly reoccurring ones from around five years ago.

Nightmares that had begun to haunt him due to his increasingly cold hands. It was oddly only his hands. It started out practically unnoticeable, to others that is, even now to him they felt perfectly fine unless he touched another part of his flesh that was not effected and even then it would be the absence of radiating heat. To others the sensation had gone to the point it felt like he put them in the freezer for a few hours. Wearing gloves solved this problem dramatically, but it was not a solution that could always be employed. Ryouko had often told him she found it to be another quirk that she loved about him but a fear lurked deep within him. A fear of what was to come and how it would affect the others, especially the one snuggled close to him. If only he knew…But for now the fear was buried deep again so that bliss can take over for the moment.

**Meanwhile**

Shouts of anger and desperation surrounded an otherwise normal house. There was an eerie air smothered by the quarrel of the abode's inhabitants. Something lurked the premise, stalked them with a off-putting glee.

"Why don't you just come off your little high horse you little brat!?" An older female voice called out. "You think it's gonna win ya any rewards?" Her snide remark was accompanied with a hard jab to the girl's chest with a sharply manicured fingernail.

"Just leave me alone!" The teen's long black hair covered most of her light brown face. The bags alone were so long the graced upon her choker with the silver music note in the middle. "Go away! Get out of my room!" She held tightly onto an old stuffed cat as she curled up after snapping at the caretaker that reeked of Vodka and energy beverages. The only thing that had been with her in her entire life. The only thing that seemed to give the poor orphan any comfort.

"You need ta grow up!" The stench of liquor became stronger as a hand reached out and snatched up the plushie. "You're way too old for this junk! It's time I throw this out!" She turned to storm out the room with the poor creature in her tight grasp.

"Give her back!" She cried in a mix of anger and desperation. "Give back silver!" She tried to jump and run after her but for a drunkard the woman was still quite alert. She managed to keep a strong grip and snatched up the girl's hair with the other hand. They stumbled into the hall as the woman refused to loosen her grip. The child ignored the tugging pain as she made another grab for the kitten. The woman only threw her hand upward out of her reach but that also caused her to loose balance and send her over the railing to the first floor. The grip on a thick mass of hair causing the girl to fall with her.

A scream of pain filled the air as a shadow snickered at the sight before him. "So, so delightful! …But I didn't get to do anything…Perhaps a test? Yes, yes. Let's see if one of these has strong enough will to live!"

A chocking, god awful smoky smell filled the room as the girl's eye fluttered open revealing her black irises. She pulled free from the postmortem grip of the person she landed on. She felt her lungs betray her as the dark grey fog swirled around them. She took the woman in her arms the best she could and after taking her Silver she tried to drag the woman through the living room and then out of the inferno.

"Mm. So hard to see." An unheard voice cooed from the outside. "I'll wait for a few moments…"

"Nagh." Her strength was failing her. She was far too slow to avoid the shelf that fell and separated her from the body she was fruitlessly trying to save. The force of last pull was strong enough to snap the choker around the scared girl's neck. She fell back and choked back tears and coughs as she hugged her kitten doll and retrieved her favorite choker. It was all she could do as her energy was sapped from her by the consuming flames.

There was a large crack that forced her to look up. It was a huge mistake, but possibly saved her from the abyss, for instead of striking straight through her skull the large piece of wood merely struck her in her wide and shivering eye. Blood spilled onto the floor as the teen collapsed onto the ground, the toy still in her grip.

"Fine, fine! …But this thing will not do!"

**Time**

The sky was starting to brighten up just a little when the boy's pure green eyes flew open. He rose up and looked at the pink haired man. He was still sleeping, as usual.

Before he would do anything he would have to find his buddy. He looked under the covers for his stuffed friend but found nothing. He checked to see if he was under his dad again but no such luck. He then looked over to his mother and sister. Kane had her own pal, this time it was a puppy with white fur and pink ribbon, but Ryouko had a friend that was not her own.

"Gachapin." He tried to reach over the pink haired girl and retrieve the sleepy looking Dino but the green haired woman's grip on it was stronger than he had anticipated. He decided the best option would be to let her have him for a few more moments. She looked so serene in her sleep like she always has. Only this time the child didn't consider how too peaceful she looked.

"Papa." Turning back to the man he crawled back over him sitting on his knees to position himself. "Paaapa." He looked down at his sleeping face, not even a twitch was induced. Gacha rested on his hands as he got closer. His reached out his finger and poked Matsu on his less pudgy cheek.

"Mmn." Pink brows were furrowed in dislike but nothing else changed.

"Pa-pa." He climbed onto the man and sat on him resting his hand on his chest.

"No Ryouko. N-Not now." He whimpered shyly. "The kids…"

"Huh?" The boy eyed him as he raised his hand again. "Geeeet uuup." He urged in a whine as he poked him in the nose.

"Nooo."

"Papa!" He was going to poke him on the forehead this time but as he was moving his arm Matsu had decided to adjust as he slept shifting the boy's finger in perfect position to get 'em good.

"Ah!" Ryuto knew for sure he was awake now since he was shielding his eye.

**Note**

**One of my more cherished chapter endings. ewe**

**The characters involved in this chapter do not belong to me...Except maybe the one who died and won't come back...But I don't really want that Ho. e_e**

**Also Dr. Kimchi but I don't want that creep either. eAe**

_**P.S.**_

_**With enough convincing I might post some of those other stories... ewe**_


	22. Acknowledging Truth

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 22

"It's far too early." He rubbed his eye for the last time as he put on his glasses. He kissed his chance of going back to the bliss goodbye. Once they were on he looked at the boy still sitting on him.

"But…" He looked out the window to see the sun still absent from over the horizon. "The day has started. It's time to have breakfast and start the weekend."

"Oh, Ryuto…" He sighed and leaned against the headboard. The boy looked up at him apologetically. His large sleepy eyes looked up as he messed with the zipper of his PJs. "You're right. Let's get dressed." He ruffled the boy's hair as his light form of punishment. His movements as he left the covers had stirred up Ryouko.

"Hng." Her eyes fluttered open. She stretched still holding the stuffed Dinosaur and noticed Matsu carry Ryuto off the bed and they each slipped into their slippers. She let out a small little yawn and rubbed the sleep out of her eye.

"Morning Sakura." She finally spoke as she sat up. The blanket slid off her and revealed her knee length spaghetti strapped pine tree green nightgown.

"Night, actually." He replied with a chuckle. It was still dark enough that he needed to turn on the light to see the articles of clothing in the closet.

When Ryuto was smaller he would sit on the floor next to the closet and watch his father pick out his clothes for the day. He would even 'help' him pick some of the options by pointing at them not that his choices were always followed through. He couldn't very well go to work wearing Ryouko's black dress, red fedora with orange band, and Ryouko's purple and yellow thigh high socks. He was far too tall for two garments to fit him properly.

Right now the boy just watched as he pulled out another button up shirt, pair of yellow and orange socks, red dress pants, and of course an undergarment. His hat was on the door's hook and he took it up last before heading to the bathroom.

"Hey, Kane." Ryouko turned to the last one in the bed. Kane would often need to be manually awakened by voice commands then by touch. This gave her 'parents' a bit of concern since Gacha has caught her asleep in the woods alone a few times. The worst part was when she was nearly left on the train because of it.

"Ha-huh?" There was a musical whir as her eyes stirred up by the touch of the shoulder. "Morning already?" She sat in the bed and looked around the room. "Where's Ryuto-Chan and Matsu-Pa?" She still hadn't gotten use to the whole family name thing yet…

"Getting dressed." She held out a hand for Kane to have leverage as she got out from the covers. The girl looked up from rubbing sleep away and holding 'Fluffpoid'. "C'mon, let's see who'll get done first." She said with a laugh.

"Did you pick out your clothes?" With his hair now unnecessarily brushed Matsu put on his hat and walked up to the boy sitting at the foot of his somewhat disorganized closet. "Uh, yes." He turned and gave him a smile. He pulled up a small pile of clothes he pulled lazily from the hangers.

"Gacha," The older of the two shook his head with a hidden grin. He walked up to the boy and pulled up two of the articles. "You can't wear pants and shorts at the same time."

"Why not?" He asked. "I see people do it all the time."

"Pick one." The older insisted, dunking both the dark green jeans and the black knee length with white fold over to his eye level. The child sighed and looked at the articles with an even amount of thought.

"That one." He tugged on the shorts to allow his father to put away the rejected pair. He grabbed a pair of red boxers with the wide eyes on the corner of the pant leg while he was at it. He was certain that pile did not contain that item.

"I want to wear the ones I'm wearing." The boy insisted.

"We've been over this Gacha." He spoke sternly again. "You can't wear underwear from last night even if you wear the new pair over it." The child didn't bother to reply. He knew it was no use. He collected the approved clothes and draped them over his arm.

"You want to wear your sweatshirt today?" He said with a hint of surprise. They usually had to force him to wear it even with Gachapin print like the coat.

"Mama said I had to yesterday." He lifted it up to him. "Cuz it's going to be cold."

"That's right. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold, would we?" He picked up the black long-sleeved shirt printed with Gachapin and Mukku wearing opposite colored Mohawks approvingly. Ryuto snatched up his paperboy hat and closed the door before he followed Matsu to the bathroom. He went in after the man left the neatly folded clothes on the toilet seat and waited for him out the door.

**Time**

"You idiots! Slouches!" A woman with long straight blonde hair burst into the room where the two men in suits sat for their monthly report.

"Well, so good to see you too Callalily." The man with the cigar mumbled.

"Uh, G-good morning miss-." The nervous man with the glasses tried to bow but the woman only walked up and threw him into his chair not even breaking eye contact with the man behind the desk.

"Yeah whatever. Shut up." She didn't even look at the young man to see if he had landed on the chair before starting with the smoker. "You! Why haven't you installed any new programs yet!?" She sneered at him. Her belly shirt sleeve had fallen from her left shoulder but the tang top underneath prevented too much from showing.

"Be cool. We haven't reached any deadlines yet." He waved her off nonchalantly.

"We're running a company here! Not a half rate high school you tub of procrastination fat!" Her spit was barely visible as she chewed him out and her breath was minty fresh. He noted that every time and would joke to everyone that she must brush her teeth every time she's ready to hand your own butt to you. "And why haven't you released any installed voice banks yet? We need products to sell moron!"

"Hey, hey. That's not my department missy! I just organize who gets what projects and makes sure they get installed, even someone with your little bit of company knowledge should know that." He shot back when the blame was not his. This usually turned to a slight mistake.

"Well Mr. 'Not my problem'." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I've come to make a few changes. If you don't get the 'Kitty' and 'Dinosaurus' request installed before the end of October then you're finished!" She took the statement home as she pointed at him with angrily narrowed eyes and stormed out the room.

"Geeze. Why doesn't she just run off and play with her father's pool of money like a good little boss's daughter?" The older man huffed as a cloud of smoke escaped his lips. The young man straightened his tie and carefully grabbed his suitcase as he picked himself off the floor. The larger one addressed him as he was climbing into his seat. "Well, you've got some work to do."

**Meanwhile**

"There you are." Ryouko smiled at the boys as they came down the stairs a few minutes after them. She walked to Ryuto and lowered to his level.

"Mama!" He whined as she checked to see if he was wearing an extra pair of boxers.

"These aren't the pair for yesterday are they?"

"Not if they're the red ones."

"You do something one time and you pay for it for the rest of your life." The boy mumbled to himself irritably. Breakfast had started out quiet aside from the usual family chatter. The day hadn't completely started until there was a ring at the door.

"Oh, Dr. Mya! Is time for Kane's checkup?" She noticed a male doctor next to her.

"Hello Ryouko-San." She bowed and motioned to the male doctor with dirty blonde hair tied in a short ponytail and freckles all over his cheeks. "This is doctor Kiyo. He is working on a new program for Kane."

"Hello Mrs…Poid?" He mumbled the last bit mid bow. He wasn't sure what to call her. His brother would always scold him about his unintentional rudeness. "I was working on that program you requested in my free time. I believe I have it ready for a beta test."

"Come in." She moved motioned for them to come in and sit in the living room. She left to get some beverages. "Kane-Chan your doctor is here!" The girl skipped into the room not long after wearing a white dress printed with pink hearts and light purple knee high socks.

"Hi, Maya-Chan." Her maroon star-sprinkled eyes grew very wide once she saw the other doctor. "Hiyo-Chan!" She cried and jumped into his arms. She had not seen him in a while. He would always take the time visit her when she was still being tested with limits in the lab. He would hold her hand and explain what all the scary gadgets did so she would be more at ease. "What are you doing here?" She giggled.

"I'm here to give you an early birthday present." He said with a smile. He pulled a protective small container from his coat. "I heard from Maya you've had trouble waking up and you'll be able dream just like you always wanted."

"Really? I'll get to dream? Like Ryouko-Ma, Matsu-Pa, Ryuto-Chan, and you? Like I'm real?"

"Silly, Kane." He laughed as he patted the girl on the space between her two large pigtails. "You've always been real, you're just made from slightly different stuff."

**Meanwhile**

The sun was just finished painting the most gorgeous sunset and the large glass window in the white, sterile lobby had given the perfect view.

"Iris-San!" A girl sitting in full view of the sky looked to the entrance of the elevator to see a sight that brightened her up.

"Kiyo-Sensei!" The young teen smiled wide as the young man walked up to her with a surprise behind his back and gave her a hug before speaking to her. The girl remained seated as he did so.

"You really don't have to call me that anymore. I am no longer your teacher, remember?"

"I wish you were. We all miss you Sensei." She said glumly before noticing his hand. "What's that?" She pointed at it with a hint of happiness.

"Oh, this?" He lifted the stuffed animal. "You don't recognize your favorite little Kitty?" He shook the dress wearing white mouthless cat and handed it to her. "I saw her on the way here. I know she won't replace your old one but-."

"She's perfect." Iris held the toy tight. "I needed her, thank you." She looked at the toy with thoughtful eyes. "I want to be more like her. She can do anything and she's always so happy."

"Really?" The teacher tried not to sound too rude but he couldn't hold back his skepticism. "She never seemed too happy to me…"

"That's because you only look at the surface. Happiness is more than a smile on the lips Sensei." She explained softly.

"…What are you reading Iris?" He noticed the book in her lap.

"It's a poem I found. I really like it."

"Iroha?" He read the title even if it was upside down. "It's…You like it?" He seemed a bit worried.

"It reminds me that you have to focus on now. Not everything lasts forever so have to make the most of today, just like Hello Kitty." There was a short pause before the child remembered something. "Oh, check this out." She placed the poem book away and pulled something out of the bag next to her. "I love this color! I'm going to wear it on my birthday in October!" She pulled the knitted cat eared cap off her head to reveal for a brief moment her smooth naked scalp before putting on a salmon pink wig that tickled upon her chin. "I wanted one with a super long ponytail but this was the best I could find. What do ya think Sensei?"

"It looks perfect." He smiled but he saw the nurse come closer. He knew their little reunion was about to be cut short.

"C'mon Miss Iris. Time for your treatment honey." The nurse said sweetly as she gripped the handles on her wheel chair.

"OK." She had a hint of sadness as she put the wig away. "See you later Sensei!" She waved as she was taken down the hall.

"See ya!" He waved back smiling as a form of encouragement until she disappeared out of view. "Please Bless her. She doesn't deserve this pain…"

**Time**

"They still haven't moved in yet?" Ka-Chan looked up from a fake Tiffany lamp as she responded to news about her sister's most recent news.

"Nope. I'm trying not to get used to the quiet."

"Quiet? What happened to Yuki Maki-San?"

"She went on a little trip with some friends for the summer. She wanted me to go but I had work." She glanced over an old book only to see it was missing a few important pages. "So I've been watering her plants and feeding Big Tuna and Little Mackerel." She was used to the oddity of the dogs' names so she didn't laugh like she used to. She actually liked them and they loved her attention…And her smell for some reason…

"That's very nice of you." They skipped over a table that was covered with nothing but unclaimed keys.

"Yeah, it's nothing." They stopped at a table filled with toys. "What was that you mentioned earlier about a promotion?"

"Actually, Rye-Chan got another job offer."

"Really? A better one?"

"Yes, much…But we'll have to move."

"What!?" Kuji nearly dropped the picture book she was inspecting. "Well, I hope he didn't quit his first job yet." She seemed a bit angered as well as upset.

"You haven't even heard how far…"

"It doesn't matter. You're far enough as it is." She frowned and stopped mid browsing. "It already takes over two hours to get to and from here and that's if there isn't any traffic."

"Kuji, We're moving back home." There was a long silence between them.

"Home, home?" She blinked a few times. "…As in Dad's home?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"H-How?" She tried her best not let false hope over take her. Surely this was not possible, to achieve this level of happiness. "We were practically kicked out after we graduated high school. How did you get it?"

"Well, the next owners of the house gave it up after a few years and it hasn't sold since." She could tell by her sister's look that she needed further explanation. "Apparently something happened a couple decades ago that makes people think it's haunted."

"That's it? What happened?"

"Rye-Chan had to dig a little to find it, but there was a mass murder…" She seemed a bit uneasy about it but she was willing to push away the thoughts of ghost so she could live close to the rest of her family. She knew Kuji's widened blue eyes begged for more details. "There was only one survivor in the house of two parents, two brothers, and a sister. A little boy called Mutsu lived after he hid in the forest separating the neighborhood from the town when his older brother was looking for him. It was before there were so many houses."

"Wow, guess superstition worked in your favor after all." She said with an eager smile and elbowed Ka-Chan. "They didn't wreck it while they lived there did they?"

"Nope, They actually added a family bath and expanded the kitchen. Aside from painting your room the same colors as Matsu's door they didn't change anything negatively." She noticed the glance she gave him. "Don't worry, we'll paint it back Kuji-Chan."

"You better." She added before spotting something on the table. "Oh, Kane would love this!" She saw a grey cat on the table and picked it up. There was a faint scent of smoke as she felt it's soft faux fur on her face. She looked at the old frayed tag with permanent marker written on it. "Silv? Must mean Silver." She looked at the kitten. Something about the cat's eyes looked as if it was in mourning of a close friend. "You're coming with me you precious little thing. As soon as I see Kane-Chan you'll have a new home."

**Note**

**More characters? How will this play out? Do you even want to know? e.e**

**Things are picking up a little but It'll be a chapter per week if anything and the day of the week will probably change a lot. I try to wait until the weekend but sometimes I forget or can't hold things back any longer. QwQ**


	23. Rejecting Fate

Repaired Beyond Recognition

Chapter 23

"We really need to employ better organizational skills here." Dr. Kiyo shuffled through the mass of papers stacked in filling cabinets and boxes that were piled into a large abandoned office. This was his brother's assignment but he decided to do it for him so he could attend an important engagement.

"I wonder if the previous occupant left any loot behind." He joked to himself. He decided to make the most of his rummaging and start with the desk. A few stacks of boxes and pieces of machinery were thrown aside and he found an interesting pie recipe but after half an hour he got to his destination.

"Woo, who ever had this desk must have been a real uptight workaholic." He noted the stern looking extra pair of glasses in one of the drawers. He didn't see much of anything other than feminine products and a pack of bullets.

"Oh, that shouldn't be there…" He was beginning to get slightly dejected from his lack of success. He slummed in the wheeled office chair only for it to snap in two moments after a loud crack. His foot went flying and smacked into the middle of the desk.

"Ack! Oooouch." He grimaced heavily as he turned to his side. "Ah." He groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he got up. His eyes flew open when he heard a strange robotic click. His unprovoked kick had opened a secret compartment in the underpart of the desk.

"What's this then?" He looked at the manila file before he claimed it. He opened it and examined the contents. He gave the paper a look like it was made of pure gold. "Th-this? Could it really be done?" He read more of it, each phrase he read made his jaw drop and his eyes grow wider. He looked at the desk's secret drawer and saw the key he needed sitting there, eager to be used again. "It, can't still be there…Can it?"

**Time**

The lifeless fluttering leaves covered the ground in a massive coat of red and orange and the thick continuous cloud of rain was loosely pasting it all together. The only other sound besides the hiss of falling water was the splash of puddles and laughter. Ryuto had his yellow rain coat with the purple buttons on with his Gachapin T and green shorts underneath. He ran far ahead his chipper aunt with the gliding blue dress.

"Did you see Auntie-Kuji?" He turned back to her.

"I saw it. Bigger than last time." She tried not to get too close as he found a huge puddle in their way. A grin overtook his face as he backed up for running jump. "Careful Gacha." She warned moments before he started to run. Regardless of far she was water still managed to splash her on the face. "…Ick." She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds, allowing some of it to drain off before she used her sleeves.

"S-Sorry Auntie…" He cringed a little from the guilt of letting his childishness get ahead of him.

"It's fine. That smudge free makeup was worth it…" She looked up to see how close she was to the garage. They were practically right next to it. She checked her bag to see it was protected from the onslaught of liquid. "C'mon sweetie. They're waiting for us." She took the boys hand with her free one and guided him in and to the car.

"What are they waiting for?" She tensed up as she helped him in the seat.

"Uh…S-Snacks that we got. Your mom really wanted them." She thought for a moment she saw something odd about the boy's eyes but pushed the thought deep.

"Oh… I didn't know she liked my favorite snack that much." He scratched the upper part of his wrist under his sleeve. Seven circular spots on each were itching and hurting like crazy.

"She did when she was pregnant." Kuji mumbled under her breath before quickly starting the car and driving out of the garage. There weren't much risky questions on the way there since she smartly started a game of 'I Spy' on the way there. He was also distracted by the circular spots on his wrists that formed a larger circle radiating with excruciating pain. It seemed to dull down as the entered the driveway.

"Why is Aunt-Chan's car here?" He looked up at the multi-colored haired woman suspiciously.

"She's probably just…She still has some things they need to move and they're asking your dad for help." She tried to hurry them along before anymore facts started to click in his mind.

**Meanwhile**

"You seem excited. Is there some improvement with the 'Kitty' project?" The brown haired young man with glasses closed the door gently as he arrived to see what his sibling was so excited about.

"Hiya! Yes, yes!" He beamed as if he was given an early Christmas and he was five. He pulled out an old file after placing some materials on an examination table. "It's an incredible improvement! A breakthrough you won't believe! It could change the world!" He practically threw the papers at the man.

"What are you-?" He shook his head as he struggled to take a hold of the research that seemed to make his brother act like a crazed monkey on coffee. "…Uh…It looks…" He adjusted his glasses to get a better glimpse. "Like it has something to do with DNA…"

"DNA synthesization." He practically giggled from excitement. "With a mix of both natural and synthetic DNA! And that's not even the best part!" He flipped through some of the pages his brother was holding. "There is a strong chance that we can reverse the state of death. You know, the thing living creatures has been willing to eliminate since the beginning of existence! There are a few reported side effects, but-."

"…Where did you find this?"

"Huh? Oh, in that old office I was cleaning out a week ago." The one in the suit nodded inwardly. That explained why he was not able to make contact for that amount of time. "So what do you think?" He sounded like a child asking his parent about an art project.

"Hiyo…" His expression was mixed. He wasn't sure whether he should be glad or concerned. "…How do you know this would work? What makes you think this is real?"

"What do you mean?" His face lost some of its pep. "It's all right there! A baby pea-brained Stegosaurus could figure it out." He quickly turned to some of the gadgets he was arranging. "A-and the materials I need were all packed in a wonderfully preserving fashion! There are even workable samples. Y-you…"

He could see he was unconvinced. That really was only the half of it. He contemplated if it was right… If one really could stop death… If one could play God like that… Should it really be done?

"Hiyo…I have to go…I'll talk to you later, alright?" He put the file neatly on the table between them.

"Just…Hiya please, at least think about it…OK?"

**Time**

"He can open mine now, right?" Pit lifted the long and thin fall colored leaf printed package with a green bow wrapped around it. She really wanted to see him happy but she also wanted to get to the cake her mom had baked for him.

"That is the last one isn't it?" Ryouko stood behind the seat and hugged her son as he made the gimmie, gimmie motion since it was being dangled before his eyes just out of reach.

"Hm?" Matsu stopped to think in the middle of picking up wrapping paper from the last gift. On the table sat items ranging from a soccer ball to strange staff type thing Klay got him. "Should be."

"Not too rough Gacha." His mother cautioned again as the box was slid to him.

"Oh, neat!" The boy lifted the sheathed weapon after tearing enough paper to open the box.

"Eh, sword?" His mother tested the 'blade' before she got too worried, relieved that Ka-Chan hadn't lost her mind letting her daughter get a real one.

"Can we go play with them now?" He turned to her with the 'sword' ready.

"After we have cake. Alright?"

"We can pretend we're fighting a dragon!" The boy cheered as he plotted their future game. "I'll be a knight and Kane can be a healer and Pit-Chan can be a fighter and Rye can be the wizard!"

"Why can't I be a Wizard?" Kane asked.

"You could be one I just thought that's what you-." The doorbell had cut the conversation short.

"Hello?" Matsupoid opened the door and looked out to see the man in glasses with a pair of packages.

"H-Hello sir." He bowed the best he could with the obstruction in his arms. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I have a gift from the corporation. It's an official uniform for installment…"

**Time**

Fast and hard crashing footsteps echoed down the hall as the man in the dark brown suit raced down the white sterile hall. He had to lean against the door frame once he had gotten there. He felt his heart sink as he saw the girl in the bed. As he got closer he could hear the machine that spoke for her heart, the one that fed her nutrients, and the one that helped her breathe.

"S-Ssss." A voice struggled as her eyes followed his movement over to her. "Sensei."

"Iris." He sat next to her bed. He was choking back tears since he received the sudden news. He noted she was using every bit of her strength to hold the doll he had just given her not more than a month ago.

"You…You're here." Her voice was weak but the emotion in her eyes was stronger than anything the young man had ever seen. It was pure, untainted joy. She knew it wasn't long but even now she could find a reason to smile. "You… Always pull through for us Sensei." She paused to prevent her mouth from drying out too much. "I'm so glad you'll be the last face I see."

"Iris…Please, don't talk like that." He urged her strongly. He could feel his throat closing up.

"Sensei…Things happen for a reason…Sometimes we don't have a choice…The best thing to do in times like these is hold your head up high…" He could see through his tear-soaked eyes that she too was growing budding tears. Her body was growing continuously weaker, more fragile. "I-." Her voice was a high pitched squeak as she stopped herself. "I only wish I was given just a few more weeks…I wanted to be fifteen…" She just wanted to go to sleep now. Her eyes were starting to blurr and fail her. "G-goodbye sensei…" He watched her close her eyes and looked away as tears rolled down his cheeks. Her smile remained in his mind.

"You, you're wrong." He looked up at her after a few moments. He had a look of determination. He had made his decision. He was done thinking about it. "…This time…We can choose this time. You can beat death."

**Note**

**...**

**I'm so evil.**

**QAQ**


End file.
